In my humanness, my heart was saddened this past week with learning that a gentleman named Mark, who served the drinks on our soup kitchen weekend once a month, will not be ministering with us anymore.
The Lord called him home last week.
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Yes, I am happy that he is with the Lord now and not suffering humanly in any way.
The sad part is that I will miss Mark’s physical appearance being there serving up the drinks when we work at the soup kitchen now.
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I guess the important thing I can do is think about the legacy his life reflected and try to live out to some degree the example he provided. We all leave a legacy by the way we live our lives daily.
Mark’s death has kind of hit me hard for some reason. Maybe it is because of the ways he ended up touching my heart.
The very first post I did back in September of 2014, entitled An Unexpected Phone Call, was inspired because of Mark’s kindness. That is kind of cool to think about. 🙂
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This past weekend we ended up working at the soup kitchen when it was not our regularly scheduled week. Both the main people, who run it on our weekend who were away for a few months prior to this weekend, and I tried to contact Mark to see if he could help that day. There was no answer on the telephone.
After we got settled at the soup kitchen that morning, two of us went to his house to see if he was around. Again, no response.
Later that day, we learned that he had died the morning before.
Mark had some different challenges in life but this is the legacy I will remember about his life:
***He was sharing the Lord in him through serving the drinks at the soup kitchen
***Despite having to sit in a chair with wheels, and scoot along to the refrigerator, coffee maker, drink area to prep the drinks he did it willingly
***Despite not having much money, he would buy coffee or lemonade for the soup kitchen to help contribute even more
***He was faithful to call early in the week and to make sure we would be there to pick him up on our Saturday soup kitchen day
***He would always ask about our children and what they were up to if they were not with us helping for some reason
***When we were going to be away on vacation, he would call and wish us a good time
***Many Thanksgivings and Christmas’ he would call us to wish us a nice day
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The last time we worked together was in November. His mother was in a nursing home due to some of her own health issues so he was staying alone. He wanted to be independent though it was difficult on him. On that particular day, he mentioned he was hoping someone was going to be coming Monday to take him to the grocery store as he was not able to drive.
Both my husband and I felt we should offer to take him to the grocery store after the soup kitchen that day and get him the groceries. We were very thankful that he actually let us do it that day. It was a blessing that we were able to help him out that way…to be Jesus to him.
I do have one regret that will hopefully be a lesson for us all too. At Christmas time, I felt I should call and check on him to see how he was doing. I even wrote it down on my to do list, which usually makes me more accountable. But, this time I actually failed to do it. 😔 I do wish I had done it to let him know one more time that we cared and loved him. So, I urge you to try to follow up on those little promptings that you hear.
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The other memory I will always cherish is that on that last November soup kitchen day we were serving some sausage. We happened to be in charge, since the main people were away, so we had to buy some last minute supplies. Mark called me a few weeks before and said, “I really think the Boy Scouts (who also assist on our weekend) would really prefer hot dogs.”
I gladly said, yes, I’ll pick up some hot dogs for those Boy Scouts. 😉 I guess Mark did not prefer sausage! (If there are left overs, we get to partake of them at the end.) Thinking of that story makes my heart smile, and I am glad I was able to easily accommodate Mark’s request.
Photo courtesy of Sapphire Dream Photography under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0)
I am blessed to have worked with Mark during the last 15 years, and am thankful for the legacy of his sharing the Lord in him through serving, caring, calling, faithfulness and giving that he showed me. You will be missed, Mark! Rest in peace, my dear friend!
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Listen to this song, Legacy, by Nichole Nordeman, to help you reflect on the legacy you are leaving in this world. I am thankful for the legacy that Mark’s life had on my life.
Thank you for sharing and for your tender heart. Greg
Thanks for reading, Mr. Pedroza, and your kind words. You continue to bless me in so many ways! 🙂
My friend Reenie’s daughter Hilary actually sang this song at her Grandmother’s funeral years ago…a beautiful reminder of what we should be striving for in this very brief life on earth. I am sorry for the loss of your friend Mark, but happy that he is now free in spirit. What a wonderful example of cheerful serving, even in times of personal hardship. Maybe that is the legacy Mark has left the world??
Wow…that is so neat to know Hilary sang that song! 🙂 It is a beautiful reminder indeed. Yes, Mark served despite many hardships, and I heard a few other people say at the funeral service that he had a “telephone ministry” always asking how people were. 🙂 Great acts of kindness! Thanks for reading and blessing, Carol!