Steve Sikes Blog  

<u>Thursday, November 20, 2008:</u>  I received some terrible news in the form of an e-mail from my cousin.  His daughter, who was 26 weeks pregnant, lost her baby this past week.  As some of us can only imagine, while others of us know first hand, my cousin’s entire family is undergoing horrendous pain and grief.
. <u>Monday morning, November 24, 2008:</u> Today I spoke at Marcel Pierre-Jacques’ funeral; he was just 24 years old!  This Wednesday morning at 7:00 I am scheduled to speak to the entire department where Marcel worked at Temple Hospital.  Marcel’s boss told me this morning, “We need help coping with this shocking loss.”
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<u>Monday night, November 24, 2008: </u>Tomorrow is a momentous day for our Sikes’ family.  Our oldest son, Jordan, and his pregnant wife, Jacqueline, find out tomorrow if she is carrying a baby boy or girl!  Patti and I are excited either way; we are just praying for a healthy grandbaby.
. The loss of my cousins’ grandchild, saying goodbye to Marcel, and waiting for our son and daughter-in-law’s phone call, are life’s current ingredients in my brimming, emotional crucible. 
. The Holy Spirit continues to remind me that I am in dire need of being led and I must walk by faith… again! 
. Thank you, James Smith & Larry and Fran Point, for letting me see your faith up close during the hardest of times.  I love you for it. 
. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME. It’s a GIRL!!!! 

Today I gave the eulogy of a 24 year-old man whom I had been studying the Bible with for about 6 months.  He had been born with a heart defect and had been in and out of the hospital all his life.  He was a pre-med student in Philadelphia and worked as a helping assistant in the surgery room at Temple Hospital.  His department boss at Temple spoke with me today at the funeral and said so many of his co-workers, peers, nurses and even doctors have been affected by his untimely death that she wondered if I would come and speak to her department this Wednesday at 7 am.  I said I would.  Here is what I wrote about it in our Sunday bulletin:

(A Tribute to Marcel Pierre-Jacques)
This past Wednesday afternoon as I was working on the front page of our Pitman bulletin, my phone rang.  Dottie, our secretary, shared that Marcel Pierre-Jacques had just passed away.  What a blow!  I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t stop the tears that immediately began to flow.  My mind raced back just 24 hours earlier to my last conversation with Marcel on the phone at 2:41 pm. 

I had gone to Marcel’s apartment in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning (11:00 am) and dropped off a care package of food and drink.  He called me that afternoon to say “Thank you.”  He went on to explain that he hadn’t been feeling very well and was still in bed asleep when I came to the door and knocked.  Now he’s gone; a young life of just 24 years. 

Staggering.  I’m having a hard time even putting all of this into words, but I feel compelled to continue. 

I met Marcel last winter when he came to visit our congregation on a Sunday morning.  I found out that Marcel was the younger brother of our own Steve Pierre-Jacques.  I readily observed that Steve and Karelle and their children, Stephanie and Joseph, were indeed a family within a family to Marcel.  Marcel loved them dearly and spoke well of all of them.  Young “Joe-Joe” (Joseph) had a special attraction to Marcel and it was especially a pleasant sight to see Marcel holding him in his arms.  Their smiles and Joe-Joe’s bright eyes would light up any room! 

Marcel was a pre-med college student who lived and worked in Philadelphia (Temple Hospital), but worshipped with us many a Sunday morning during this past year.  If Marcel was feeling OK, his brother, Steve, would generally go and pick him up (usually on a Saturday evening) and bring him home with him for the night.  Marcel loved Karelle’s cooking and being with the children.  Sunday mornings would find them sitting together as a family near the back row of our auditorium during second service.

Over the past 6 months, Marcel and I had numerous Bible studies and discussions about the Lord.  He was open, spiritually questioning and desirous of knowing more and more. 
Generally I would pick Marcel up at his apartment in Philly on Tuesday mornings and take him to work at Temple Hospital.  We would eat and have a Bible study in the hospital cafeteria for over an hour and then Marcel would head to the scrub room to begin his assisting shift in surgery; I would return to Pitman. 

Only a month ago, Marcel called me and wanted to have a Bible study over the phone.  We had missed our regular study time because he had been sick.  Later he called again and asked me to give him another chapter to read.  I gave him Isaiah 40 because I had just preached on that chapter and it had so much to say about God, His sovereignty, and His message of hope and comfort – especially to young men experiencing a hard time!

“His understanding is inscrutable.  He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.  Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”  Isaiah 40:28b-31

Almost three weeks ago, Marcel was struck with a sharp pain in his chest while working in the Temple Hospital surgery room.  He was immediately given a Cat Scan and transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (C.H.O.P.).  I visited him there where he underwent more tests, including an echocardiogram, another Cat Scan and a check-up on his pacemaker. 

I often commented to Marcel that 2008 was indeed a huge testing year for him.  He had been admitted to C.H.O.P. numerous times since this past February for a variety of reasons: high fever; breathing difficulties; blood clot; lung problems; heart problems; kidney problems; etc. 

Marcel had missed so much school this past spring that he was forced to drop all of his classes; he was fearful of having to do the same this semester, though Tuesday he assured me he was caught up. 
               
Marcel Pierre-Jacques worked his way into my heart quickly.  Almost every time we would meet he would ask me about Jessica and her chronic pain.  He and Jess had so much in common.  Plus, this past spring our oldest son, Jordan, flew in from Chicago for a quick two-day visit; a rare break in his Podiatry School program.  Patti and I took Jordan to C.H.O.P to meet Marcel.  We sang several songs together, read some Scripture and then Jordan prayed for him.  Marcel and Jordan connected right away. 

Some people would say Marcel left this world way too early.  He had so much to offer, so much to give, and yet, so much to learn and understand.  In his young life, Marcel was a seeker of truth, a believer in God, and was fast becoming a student of His Word.  Marcel had already made his deposit to go on our next mission trip to France in 2009.  He and Garth Hutchinson (our resident missionary from France) conversed in French several times.

Marcel was a hard worker, extremely conscientious, smart, reserved, honorable, fun-loving, great around little kids, and had plans to be a doctor someday and make a difference helping people.  I’ll never forget Marcel’s bravery as he faced each new day with resolved hope and courage.  Now what?

Isaiah 40 – concerning God’s eternal sovereignty and His unfathomable understanding, is where I lay down my questions and fears; Isaiah 53 is where I lift up my peace.  GOD IS GOOD. 

When he first came to live with our family, he was about 18 months old.  He was too young for one of the children’s home cottages, so my parents brought him home to our farm house. 
For many years we had an old couch in the den that had a hole in the back.  Almost like a magnet, our innovative little resident was drawn to that hole from the very start.  Daily he would reach his little hand into that couch cavity and pull out some stuffing, and then with his fist clinched tight, hold his prize throughout the day!  Somehow, someway, this daily allowance of stuffing rewarded our new toddler with some sense of security.
I don’t know how old my adopted brother was before he quit foraging into our old couch, but his story reminds me of where true security can be found.  (And it’s not in a fistful of stuffing!)
“And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday.  And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”  Isaiah 58:10-11
When one’s hand is open to the needy, God will guide, satisfy and strengthen!  Now that’s security, not stuffing!  God is indeed good all the time!