A Tribute to Mark
I have a friend who, since meeting him, I've adopted as my older brother. His name is Mark W. Miner. He is one of the most inspiring people I know.
He doesn't know this, but I used to sort of think he was a celebrity. Someone had shared a bit of his story with me prior to meeting him and after hearing it I just knew he was amazing.
So amazing that I really wanted to meet him.
Heck, I wanted to be him, or so I thought.
Really what I wanted, was to have what he had.
Freedom from the everyday bondage of addiction.
Knowledge of how to achieve such freedom.
... and
A personal relationship with our elder brother, Jesus Christ.
I remember the first time I met him. It was on a Sunday evening after an ARP fireside. I managed to muster up the courage to walk up to him and say hi, expecting in return a handshake accompanied by an inquisitive look that said both, 'do I know you?' and 'what do you want?'
I received neither.
Instead, I felt big burly arms wrap around me and with pure sincerity, he said: "Hi! How are you!?' Still to this day I wonder if he thought I was someone else, but I choose to take my experience at face value and believe he really was genuinely happy to see me.
The fact is, he exemplified the Savior that day, because he greeted me with pure love.
I'd like all of you to meet Mark, to feel of his goodness and be touched by the redemptive power of our Savior's Atonement by hearing his story. You can do so by watching his video. I'm warning you though, you'll likely need a tissue:
Mark also recently wrote a poem and, after reading it, I wanted to share it here, by permission:
Faith is a Breaking Dawn
On the edge of faith, the choice is mine.
Chilling winds of doubt gust and eddy about,
pushing me towards the wide-mouthed chasm of the past,
that devouring pit of bottomless regrets
which weigh me down and suck me into
the monstrous maw of broken-boned hopes;
and all around, the faint but piercing screams
of unkept promises and dying dreams still echoing,
unforgiving, accusingly calling my name.
But faith is a breaking dawn,
and each step forward, towards the Son,
erases that dark vortex of doubt from my mind,
stirs harmonies of hope and light in the now-gentle breeze,
and awakens the yellows and golds of joy within my heart.
The hymn of life pulses in my veins and sings in my soul,
a warming witness that love is real, and forgiveness,
a testimony that the choice I've made is life eternal.
~Mark W. Miner~
Thank you for being my friend; my brother, Mark.
I'm a better person for knowing you.
Thank you, Mark, for sharing your story. You, like Alma, will help bring lost souls to Christ. :) I think it's amazing how the Lord uses us when we feel weak or inadequate, because others can relate to our experiences. We are not alone.
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