Funeral Costs for Thomas A. Jones
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Sally A Fabre feeling grateful.
November 15 at 7:47am · Beaverton ·
A Journey of Obedience
I'll never forget the day I was obedient to asking a homeless man his name and inviting him in my office to hear his story. It was the beginning of our Heavenly Father connecting the dots of so many lives for this one man. It started in December of 2012 and ended last week with this man's passing.
After talking to Tom many times after that first encounter, I asked him about his family. With tears in his eyes he said before he died he wanted to find his one and only daughter. He thought she lived in Idaho so the search began on Facebook. First looking for her mother and finding her fairly quickly. The first note on Facebook went to her on 2/24/2013 but there was no reply until 12/12/2013. It was quite the Christmas present for Tom as well as his daughter Ashley who finally connected with me on Facebook on 12/17/2013. Pictures were exchanged as well as phone numbers. The first phone call between Father and Daughter was to happen that day. To Ashley's disappointment, her Father chose not to call and she was heart-broken. I told her to not be discouraged, as her Father's guilt and shame obviously over-powered him and it would happen when it should.
Surprisingly, that same day, I purchased a plane ticket to fly home to Iowa as my Father was nearing death and actually died on 12/19/2013 without me getting to see him before he passed. He died from colon cancer but also a broken man who suffered tremendously from alcoholism in his later years. He never felt worthy and fought depression and anxiety most of his life. I don't think he ever recovered from his older brothers death from alcoholism, one of his sisters suicide, and then a divorce after 42 years of marriage.
The good news is a daughter, son-in-law, and grandson reunion occurred in person on 12/4/2014. It was a short visit of two days but it was enough for Tom to last him through his death last week. Many were hopeful he would stay and get the help he needed and renew a relationship with his daughter and family for years to come. Instead, he "chose?" to continue his broken life, under a tent, in the backyard of a friend passing away there last week. What's interesting is I heard a new part of his story about his Mom passing in a house fire and his Dad passing a year later in the same home. Of a sister who passed sleeping outside under a tree with him as they were homeless together. Life is hard. Unworthiness, shame, guilt, addictions are Satan's tools to keep us stuck. Some say people "choose" to stay homeless but I say Satan convinces them they are not worthy and unless they experience the healing touch of our Heavenly Father and made whole again, there isn't a choice. I do know Tom knew he was loved. He loved his "Pumpkin" daughter Ashley with all of his heart (even though he always got her birthday wrong). My final prayer for Tom, before he passed, is that He felt the love of our Heavenly Father taking him into His arms and realizing that he was worthy of this love search our Heavenly Father started for him almost four years ago.
I am humbled and grateful I was a part of Tom's journey so please don't miss out if you hear one day "Ask that person their name and find out their story." You never know what that journey will look like and what God will do through you to show His love to another hurting person.
If you would like to help me with Tom's funeral costs, I would greatly appreciate it. Ashley is unable to pay and I put this on my personal credit card so she could make sure her Dad was taken care of properly in death. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated and I know Ashley would appreciate it too.
November 15 at 7:47am · Beaverton ·
A Journey of Obedience
I'll never forget the day I was obedient to asking a homeless man his name and inviting him in my office to hear his story. It was the beginning of our Heavenly Father connecting the dots of so many lives for this one man. It started in December of 2012 and ended last week with this man's passing.
After talking to Tom many times after that first encounter, I asked him about his family. With tears in his eyes he said before he died he wanted to find his one and only daughter. He thought she lived in Idaho so the search began on Facebook. First looking for her mother and finding her fairly quickly. The first note on Facebook went to her on 2/24/2013 but there was no reply until 12/12/2013. It was quite the Christmas present for Tom as well as his daughter Ashley who finally connected with me on Facebook on 12/17/2013. Pictures were exchanged as well as phone numbers. The first phone call between Father and Daughter was to happen that day. To Ashley's disappointment, her Father chose not to call and she was heart-broken. I told her to not be discouraged, as her Father's guilt and shame obviously over-powered him and it would happen when it should.
Surprisingly, that same day, I purchased a plane ticket to fly home to Iowa as my Father was nearing death and actually died on 12/19/2013 without me getting to see him before he passed. He died from colon cancer but also a broken man who suffered tremendously from alcoholism in his later years. He never felt worthy and fought depression and anxiety most of his life. I don't think he ever recovered from his older brothers death from alcoholism, one of his sisters suicide, and then a divorce after 42 years of marriage.
The good news is a daughter, son-in-law, and grandson reunion occurred in person on 12/4/2014. It was a short visit of two days but it was enough for Tom to last him through his death last week. Many were hopeful he would stay and get the help he needed and renew a relationship with his daughter and family for years to come. Instead, he "chose?" to continue his broken life, under a tent, in the backyard of a friend passing away there last week. What's interesting is I heard a new part of his story about his Mom passing in a house fire and his Dad passing a year later in the same home. Of a sister who passed sleeping outside under a tree with him as they were homeless together. Life is hard. Unworthiness, shame, guilt, addictions are Satan's tools to keep us stuck. Some say people "choose" to stay homeless but I say Satan convinces them they are not worthy and unless they experience the healing touch of our Heavenly Father and made whole again, there isn't a choice. I do know Tom knew he was loved. He loved his "Pumpkin" daughter Ashley with all of his heart (even though he always got her birthday wrong). My final prayer for Tom, before he passed, is that He felt the love of our Heavenly Father taking him into His arms and realizing that he was worthy of this love search our Heavenly Father started for him almost four years ago.
I am humbled and grateful I was a part of Tom's journey so please don't miss out if you hear one day "Ask that person their name and find out their story." You never know what that journey will look like and what God will do through you to show His love to another hurting person.
If you would like to help me with Tom's funeral costs, I would greatly appreciate it. Ashley is unable to pay and I put this on my personal credit card so she could make sure her Dad was taken care of properly in death. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated and I know Ashley would appreciate it too.
Organizer
Sally A Fabre
Organizer
Beaverton, OR