Mark: "Write the story, Angel, you have to write the story!"
Angel (praying): "God, how do I write the story, tell me how, how do I write the story?" So I just come here, get a blank page and start typing.
I only grasp bits and pieces of what Mark is telling me. To him he has the entire story, he understands all that has happened, he's been living it. But to me, I only grasp bits and pieces. Even when he is on the phone with me, TELLING me that I have to write the story I don't know if I have enough pieces to make sense of it to anyone else. But I'll try...
Mark's mom just died. For the past couple of years I've been with Mark or on the phone with Mark, or reading texts and sending texts with Mark. So I know the story pretty good about his mom. He has sent me pictures of her. He has tried to put me on joint phone calls with her. I resist because I just resist people pretty much altogether and Mark is so social, he tries that with me constantly. Today, for example, I didn't pick up his phone call because I really couldn't at that moment. But when I read the text from the voice message he had tried to put me on a call with another friend on the line. I texted hugs and kisses with hearts and praying hands, and said I was sorry I missed his call. But I still didn't call back. A bit later I see another notification that I have another call from someone. I guess it is from Mark and I glance at the time - 8 pm or so - before I see. Yes, it is from Mark, so I can now call him back. But, first, I read the text and listen to the voice mail and he says towards the end, "Oh and I guess you know my mom died."
No. I didn't know his mom died. I knew his mom was old. I knew he was constantly working with his Florida sister and brother to try to take care of her. I knew there was a lot of effort being put into their doing so. I knew it was hard. I knew several of the private stories about WHY it was hard. But, no, I didn't know his mom died. It struck me out of the blue.
IMMEDIATELY I try to call him but it goes to voice mail. I look at the clock, yes, around 8 pm, so he is probably still awake. I start writing a text about how sorry I am and that, no, I didn't know, what happened and when and how??? Where ARE you, even??? I get a small paragraph written and he calls. So I stop writing and answer, "NO, I DIDN'T Know. What happened???"
And that is when we spend the next thirty minutes on the phone with him pouring out all the jumbled pieces, telling me to write the story. I'm trying to put the puzzle pieces together...
The story: Mark knew his mom was going to die, beforehand, on the very day she died, that she WAS going to die, THAT day. That was a few days ago. Mark was in Texas. His mom was in Florida. But he knew. He knew BECAUSE he prayed to God, that day, and ASKED God to have mercy on her and help her. He sort of got a bit of an attitude towards God. He imitated his prayer for me so I could see his state of mind on that day. He wanted God to take care of his mom. He wanted God to have mercy on her. She was having a very hard time and Mark pretty much insisted God wake up and take care of it. Mark knew the day his mom died, before she died, that she would die THAT day. "After all, she'll be in a better place, she'll have her new body. I don't think about it the same way most people think about it. She'll BE with God..."
There's more.
A few days ago I received a text from Mark inviting me to phone in, number in the text, to his Pastor friend's radio program. I have before and it lasts forever and the guy only comes on himself at the beginning and end. In the middle is a couple of hours of a recorded sermon. Mark loves it. Mark loves the guy, his friend for decades. Pastor Michael-John Toste.
Pastor Michael-John was involved in the period of Mark's life when Dennis Tinerino was training both Mark and Sylvester Stallone. Dennis encouraged Sly to be a Christian. Mark loves Pastor Michael-John and listens to every word, every week. I ignored the message with just posting a thanks and a heart, like I always do. But it was Magic Time and I missed it. I need to start listening to Mark better.
Quote from book: "Dennis Tinerino is a Hall of Fame bodybuilder, evangelist, prophet, and founder of a worldwide miracle ministry. ...Mr. America, Natural Mr. American and four Mr. Universe titles."
Mark: "Write the story, Angel."
Here's the story...
It is the same day Mark prayed to God about helping his mom, just later. Mark is on the phone with the recorded sermon and it is 11:59 pm, almost midnight, that night, last week. Mark is half asleep, but still awake enough to hear Pastor Michael-John break into the phone call, in person, calling for him. "Mark, MARK, ANSWER!!! I have a MESSAGE for you!!!" Mark was groggy, almost asleep, almost midnight.
Pastor Michael-John: "Mark! I have a special, urgent message for you!!! Are you there?!!!"
We are talking "MESSAGE FROM GOD," here. Prophecy. That's how this works. I know Mark has full faith in his friend, Michael-John. If he says he has a message from God, an urgent message, for Mark, that has to be told immediately, right now, breaking into the show, causing the show to not end on time, interrupting the show, with listeners all over the world tuned in, then Mark believes him. There's no question Mark believes him. He wakes up and answers his friend.
Pastor Michael-John at 11:59 on the day that Mark's mom is going to die, the day Mark already knows is the day she is going to die even though she is a thousand miles away in another state, tells Mark, "It is going to be ok. This is going to be a new season. I just want you to know that God has this. It is going to be ok." That's the urgent message.
Within one minute, after hanging up from the urgent message from Pastor Michael-John the phone rings. It's really that same minute, 11:59 pm. Mark makes a point to tell me that in Florida where his mom is it is only 10:59 pm. BEFORE Midnight. Same day Mark already knows his mom is going to die. He knows because he asked God to take care of her and sort of fussed at God because she was having a hard time and needed God's help. So God needed to help her. Mark knew he would. THAT DAY. So it is only 10:59 Florida time. God has a whole hour. 11:59 Texas time, Mark's time. STILL THAT DAY. Pastor Michael-John breaks into his own radio program to give a special urgent message to Mark that God is handling it and everything is going to be ok. Mark hangs up. Immediately, the phone rings. It is the medical people in Florida who have been caring for Mark's mom. They tell Mark his Mom has died.
That's the story.
Angel to Mark, on the phone, hearing this story: "Mark! God does this with YOU ALL THE TIME!!!! I've never met ANYONE except ME, myself, and Gigi (oh and my parents and daughter) besides YOU that GOD does this with. You, Me, Gigi. But GOD DOES THIS WITH YOU ALL THE TIME." That is my response to Mark when he tells me this story. It is true.
Mark to Angel: "Write the story, Angel. People need to HEAR the story."
I write Mark's stories. This is WHY I write Mark's stories. People need to hear Mark's stories.
There's more.
Remember, I feel like I have been handed a big box full of puzzle pieces. Mark understands the puzzle. He knows what the picture looks like. But I'm having to put it together pretty much blindly. I feel the urgency. I'm trying to grasp the overall picture. I just did. There are smaller side pictures within the puzzle. I'll try to put them together correctly.
Mark's mom SAW her dead husband, he died in 1991, recently. I really tried to zoom in on this side picture and get the details. She was home, alone, watching TV. Mark quoted something to me about the Heavenly Host. He assured me other people have had this experience. I assured HIM that I believed him. The details I could get were that it comforted his mom. The dad looked sort of radiant. That's the side story.
The 3rd side story is that this also happened in 1991, when his dad died. The dad appeared to his nephew who was there in another bedroom in the same house. Mark had had quality time, unusual at the time, with his dad that very day.
So there's the story. "Thank you, God, we did it. We managed to write Mark's story." I didn't think I could. There were so many, are still so many, little puzzle pieces in the box that I've left out because, frankly, they are too personal and, frankly, I don't fully grasp them all myself. But I've put the major, center story together for you. I've put the two side stories together for you. I've created a window for you.
Mark's story is faith. This is what faith looks like. Mark is the reason, I've said it before, maybe you can start to really grasp it if I say it again - Mark is the reason, he played a major part, WHY the Rocky movies have the prayer scenes in them. Mark caused that, others were involved, but Mark did that.
"Thank you, dear Father, for Mark. Thank you for Mark's faith. Thank you for Mark's stories. May they bless whoever reads them. May you lead those who need to read them here to us. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Thank you, Father.
Copyright 2024 Angel Isaacs All Rights Reserved
Written May 18, 2024 at 9:49 pm