Monday, February 8, 2016
It's been almost two months since my Uncle Mark's passing, and I am still teary eyed.
By God's grace, I was able to visit with him and T Tuesday, Dec. 1, the week before he died. My husband was off and able to watch our girls, Sarah, 5, and Anna, 4, and get them to school and back so I could make the trip and spend some time with Mark.
It had been years since I'd seen him, though we'd spoken by phone and e-mailed several times.
Interestingly, about this time last year, Jan. 21, 2015, Mark forwarded an obituary about my former middle-school music teacher, Mario DeCapua, and his passing. "Just thought you'd like to know that he thought VERY highly of you!" he wrote.
Turns out Mr. DeCapua knew Mark through Thomsen Overhead Door, the family business my grandfather, Aage F. Thomsen, founded in 1946. Mr. DeCapua and my grandfather were in the governor's footguard together, and apparently, Mr. DeCapua continued to support our family's business long after my grandfather's passing, when I was a senior in college, at Northwestern University. I won't name the year to protect the innocent!
Little did I know that Mark's time here was so short.
I had hoped to share my many fond memories of my uncle at his memorial service or here, but there is not time or space enough to do it justice. And it seems I have misplaced my notes I made of these memories when I first learned of his passing.
Suffice it to say, I had the opportunity to speak with him by phone in September and share with him God's plan of salvation. He prayed the sinner's prayer with me over the phone. Only he and God know whether it was a heartfelt decision to trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior and LORD - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts. 4:12)
I hope it was heartfelt: It is my only hope of seeing him again in eternity. It would be an answer to my prayers for God restore the years - and relationships - the locusts have eaten.
