BITTER - SWEET
Last night while I was watching the Mets getting their tails kicked by the Rockies, I got a phone call I was expecting, didn't want and yet was happy to receive.
It was word from Mather Hospital that Ron Mazza had passed away. I knew the news was going to be coming some time, because I had been there with Ron earlier in the day and had seen that he was no longer conscious and that all treatment had been stopped as the doctors could do no more for him.
I didn't want to get the call because Ron has been a part of our church since shortly after we started and has been as faithful and committed a member of Grace Church as you could hope for. I'm not enjoying having to say goodbye to a man of his calibre. There's the empty feeling inside today that most of us are painfully familiar with, because we've experienced it before when we have lost someone special.
I've already lost track of how many people I've heard comment "He was like a father to me". It reminds me of the statement Paul made to the Corinthian church when he told them You have 10,000 instructors but not many fathers. There is never a shortage of individuals ready to tell you what to do, but men who care for you and provide an example to follow are few and far between. Ron was definitely that kind of guy.
To finish my opening thought, I was pleased to get the call last night because it meant the struggle was over and a good man had entered into what God had prepared and planned for him before he was even born.
I have no doubt that Ron Mazza heard Jesus say - Well done, good and faithful servant.
It was word from Mather Hospital that Ron Mazza had passed away. I knew the news was going to be coming some time, because I had been there with Ron earlier in the day and had seen that he was no longer conscious and that all treatment had been stopped as the doctors could do no more for him.
I didn't want to get the call because Ron has been a part of our church since shortly after we started and has been as faithful and committed a member of Grace Church as you could hope for. I'm not enjoying having to say goodbye to a man of his calibre. There's the empty feeling inside today that most of us are painfully familiar with, because we've experienced it before when we have lost someone special.
I've already lost track of how many people I've heard comment "He was like a father to me". It reminds me of the statement Paul made to the Corinthian church when he told them You have 10,000 instructors but not many fathers. There is never a shortage of individuals ready to tell you what to do, but men who care for you and provide an example to follow are few and far between. Ron was definitely that kind of guy.
To finish my opening thought, I was pleased to get the call last night because it meant the struggle was over and a good man had entered into what God had prepared and planned for him before he was even born.
I have no doubt that Ron Mazza heard Jesus say - Well done, good and faithful servant.
posted by Roger Blackmore | 11:10 AM
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