Please pray

 I found out this morning (Monday, October 20) that a dear friend of mine died of a heart attack yesterday.  He lived in Virginia Beach, so it isn't like I can do much about it from here, but I pray for Terry's soul, his friend, but most of all his family as Terry's ex-wife died within the last two months also.  Terry had been working very hard to plan a memorial service for her with his children.  Now he joins her and I cannot fathom what his children are dealing with.

In some ways I feel like I can relate to them.  In the last year, there have been several family deaths I have dealt with, most recently for my dad's oldest brother who died in Israel where he had lived since around 1975.  Uncle Marty and I were not exactly close, but it is something to consider that Marty was still family.  He was brought into this world by my grandparents and baptized at St. Dorothy Parish in Chicago.  After a short first marriage, Marty had five children with his second wife and moved them to Israel as our family does have Jewish blood in us and so he wanted to raise the children in that religion.  When Marty's second wife moved back to the United States with 4 of the 5 children, Marty married once more and proceeded to have 3 more children.  I have no idea how many grandchildren he had because there has not been contact with anyone consistently.  The older children don't live in Illinois and so I have no information like that.  And yet, Marty Novick, as I told my aunt the other day, was baptized. And while he may have left the church many years ago, baptism doesn't wash away.  That is my hope.  He joins his next three brothers - Don, George, and Ed (my dad) - on the other side.  Keep praying for me, Dad, Uncle George, Uncle Don, and teach Uncle Marty to do so.  Thanks.