Saturday, March 1, 2008

Going To Renee's Memorial


Tonight Jobina and I went to a memorial service in Winnipeg for Renee, our 24 year old friend who recently died of leukemia. I must say that it was tough. I went in feeling kind of numb but quickly I got pretty emotional. Some miscellaneous highlights for me:

-This really cool slideshow that Kara made of Renee's photography to song by Mindy Smith called "Come To Jesus." The song is amazing and paired with Renee's photos it was (in my mind) a kind of holy space.

-"The Prayer of St. Patrick" (one of my favorite of all prayers) was in an abridged form in the bulletin. If I had to choose only one prayer to pray again, this would be it.

-Listening to people tell stories of Renee's artistic abilities and what she accomplished in just 23 years of life was astounding. She's done over seas missions, written and produced several plays, toured with a drama team in the U.S., taken a semester of Bible College, etc, etc. Though her life was short, it was jam packed with making a difference and exploring her many gifts and abilities.

-I don't know how they did it, but Renee's parents (Ray and Martha) were somehow able to pull it together. I would have been a complete mess. Their strength and faith astounded me.

-The speakers from YWAM challenged me powerfully about several things, but I am still processing them and can't really discuss them right now.

I'm emotionally and physically spent. And I'm so sad about this beautiful person I was lucky enough to know and how her life was cut so short. As a Dad, I can't image what it would be like but it makes me want to spend all the time I can with my kids. You never know how long anyone has . . . we need to reach out to them while we can. Funerals are like that for me, they remind me what is really important. I just wish I didn't always forget again afterwards.

May Light increase!

3 comments:

Michele said...

That sounds like it was a beautiful service. I read through Renee's blog and I was amazed at the depth of this young woman. She was VERY accomplished and had so many different talents. One thing that always came through in her writings was her love of God and her faith that He knew what He was doing, even if she didn't.

I agree with you that funerals are reminders of what's important in our lives. We don't know how long we have on this earth. It makes me so grateful that I've experienced as much as I have and it makes me hungry for more!

I'm praying that God is using Renee's wonderful personality and talents in heaven and showing her all the talents she hasn't discovered yet within herself! Rest in peace, Renee!

Stacey said...

Thanks for posting your thoughts Mark. I have read through Renee's blog since I learned about her recently through Jobina. Her life, her journey, her thoughts, her creativity has touched me.

I've been praying for you both and her family as well. May you seek wisdom, comfort and understanding from the Heavenly Father as you try to make sense out of such a tragic loss such as losing Renee.

Hugs,
~Stacey

Anonymous said...

it's always hard for people when a close friend or family member passes away.