For 36 years, Marco and I have stuck pins in topics for conversation then run various threads of thought through a particular topic till we’ve stitched enough, then we put the piece down to be picked up again at another time. We turn to something new.

On September 2, ‘18, the seriousness of Marc’s last call to Doug let slip the damage to his brain, and a willingness to resign. The voice he has used with such purity of excellence was held to a whisper. Threads of thought collided mid-sentence, unsteady and unsure. Doug called us. 

“Marco has asked that you pray for him.”

We prayed and I spoke for the last time to Marco about spiritual things. Then, now, I have put the topic down.

Dearest Marco, it is your mom writing in response to your request . . . but it is your whole Pine family loving you as these words are written.

“Eternity is a long time, especially towards the end.”

           This quote is attributed to Steven Hawking. I’m not sure who said it, it could have been Woody Allen, but I am sure that it feels true when life suggests a closing time; as perhaps it does now, to you.

 

Your American mom and dad are weeping as we pray and you struggle for strength. Physically, we are far from you. Emotionally, spiritually, we are snuggled next to your body, holding you, feeling your warmth, hearing you breathe, listening, listening for any words from your amazing voice.

 

We are repeating again and again for you, “We love you. We are so thankful for the gift of your life folded into the fabric of ours.” The wonder, the absolute wonder, of our meeting feels like an eternity ago. And now, that eternity moves toward an end, and we grieve.

 

It is a wonder, say scientists, that any one of us is born—given that the odds against us being born are greater than the odds of finding one green grain of sand in all the world’s sand. But against all odds, you were born, and against all odds, you and we became acquaintances, then friends, then full-fledged family.

 

Since we know love by loving each other, it isn’t too far a stretch to believe the Bible when it says that the very essence of God is love.

 

Just before he died, Jesus said to a bunch of his friends that God has prepared a place to be shared after our physical phase of life ends—that, as remarkable as it is that we found  ourselves as physical beings through a birthing process, we will be stunned to find ourselves birthing again through a process we call a dying (because like physical birth, we just have to go through it; we can’t know what’s “out there” till we are out there)!

 

Beloved Marco, dearest, dearly loved Marco, let God, who is love, who has given us love to share, let God midwife you into the next phase of eternity, into the next phase of releasing your great humor, talent, winsomeness, and capacity of love. Lead the way for us!!  

      “Love is what God is,” wrote Rob Bell. He said,

       “Love is why Jesus came

       Love is why he continues to come year after year to person after person

May you experience this vast,

expansive, infinite, indestructible love

that has been yours all along.

May you discover that this love is as wide

as the sky and as small as the cracks in

your heart no one else knows about.

And may you know,

Deep in your bones,

That love wins.”

           

You mum, your dad, your sweet brother Doug; all your family here bestows kisses and hugs and gratitude for the gift of your life to us. We love you, we love you, we love you.  Mum & Dad