Taken Too Soon?

Over the last several days as many of you have joined together with my family and I to mourn the loss of my son Mario, we have taken comfort and gained a sense of peace in reading your notes to us, to Mario, and to others through various means, including social media. One of the things that has struck me that has been somewhat of a common theme is the expression that Mario was taken too soon; too young. If that is your line of thinking, I'd like to challenge you to see things a bit differently. 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5. This verse is one that I have hung onto for many years and it seems even more applicable now than ever before. It has encouraged me that God knew me before I was ever created in my mother's body. He knew me and yet chose me despite the mistakes I would make, irregardless of my shortcomings, failures, and bad decisions. This scripture not only applies to me of course, but it applies to everyone. God knew who you were, the choices you would make, the good and the bad, and He chose you anyway. Think about it like this...we are talking about God here. Don't you think he had a choice? He literally made you. He could have picked any other mixture of personality traits, looks, etc., but He didn't...He chose you and I. Mario is no different. God chose him. 

The second part of that verse should not go unnoticed. "...before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." That sounds huge, right? Daunting even. Perhaps you are getting stuck on the part about being a "prophet to the nations." The definition of a prophet is someone who "speaks for a God or a deity, or by divine inspiration". Another definition is "a person regarded as, or claiming to be, an inspired teacher or leader." (dictionary.com) When you think of the word "nation" maybe you think of something on the scale of the United Nations but really a nation can be a body of people in your life. Those that are in your sphere of influence. 

When I was in the day-to-day life with Mario, there were glimpses of Mario being a prophet to nations as he taught friends about the love of Jesus, but on the back end of all of that, I can now see plainly that Mario was a prophet to his nations (read that: his peeps) through not only direct teaching, but also through his smile, his laugh, the way he accepted and befriended others. For me, Mario is a living, breathing example of Jeremiah 1:5. 

I'd like to challenge you with a few additional thoughts about Mario's life. His life had a purpose. There is no doubt in my mind about that. As his mother I am naturally inclined to think that his life was cut short and he was taken too soon. There are no words that sufficiently describe the absolute heartbreak I have felt since receiving the call on March 6th telling me my baby boy was in an accident and did not survive. Never before have I felt like my heart was literally breaking in my own body. Never before have I known the meaning of the term "gut wrenching" - where the pain is so tremendous that it literally takes you to your knees. There has been a very real and torturous physical pain that has occurred with the loss of my son. But through it all I have known with everything in me that Mario's life had a purpose and he served that purpose to the fullest extent. 

And I believe that this was all part of the plan: the timing of Mario's death, the people in his sphere of influence at this point in his life - and in the past, even the way that he died and where he died. Mario's death is not in vain. You want to know what the purpose of his life was? I wish I could show you the magnitude of the impact of his life as it is unfolding to us as his family after the fact. I wish I could share with you every letter, card, sign, email, phone call, post, text message, tweet, and conversation that I have had the privilege of experiencing that go well beyond the courtesy of a condolence and venture into the depths of Mario's impact in other's lives. We have been humbled and stunned by the love we have seen expressed through various means and floored by the over 700 people who took time to show their support and share their stories at Mario's visitation and service. I have always been proud of Mario but I have never been prouder of him than I am right now. And I am honored to have been chosen to be his "mamma". 

In my opinion, Mario wasn't taken too soon or too young. This was the way it was supposed to be. It was all in the plan - we just didn't know the plan. But here we are, in the midst of the bigger plan. God is in control. Let me say that again...God is in control. Believe that. 

"From birth I was cast on you; from my mother's womb you have been my God." Psalms 22:10