I wanted to highlight one of the most significant events of his life, and its impact on his life from that moment on. His marriage to Mom, and the subsequent births of his 6 children were all highly impactful, but the event I think that changed his life was the day he heard the Lord speak to him. My Dad was a great guy to start with, he was raised well and knew what it meant to be a loving husband and father. He was raised Catholic and had a deep faith, but one day his world was changed when He heard the Lord say, "I love you, Gene Hall!"
He said it wasn't an audible voice, but it was clear in his heart and mind. He knew that He had heard the Lord speak and the thought that God actually loved him, and knew him was transformational. He knew from his upbringing that God loved us all, that Jesus had come to earth because of His love for us all (John 3:16), but this was something different, something very personal. It was like the first time my mother told him she loved him, but this was God saying the same thing. God loved him, knew him, chose him, and loved him for who he was.
My dad's last journal entry from 3 days before he entered Heaven so suddenly and unexpectedly included this same language and it was something he never forgot and was always at the forefront of his mind. In his prayer, written out that day he said (while reflecting on the fact that God loves each and every one of us), "It's beyond my understanding as to how you know, care for, love and help each one who accepts that love - to me individually, an intimate relationship. You love me, Gene Hall, and care for me as much as I let you - a one to one relationship, and because you are God - you are able to do that with each individual - Wow! Thank you God for loving me - Gene Hall - here and now..."
This fact that God had personal love for him, and desired a one to one relationship with him was something that fueled the remainder of his life. From what I can tell, Dad heard the Lord speak to him sometime in the late 60's or early 70's and thus spent the remaining 45-50 years pursuing a deeper relationship with this God, who loved him personally. This personal relationship with God drove him into prayer, into reading of others who had experienced this revelation of personal love from God. He pursued God in every way He could think to pursue him. His pursuit of God and personal relationship with him became something that we all understood and emulated, accepting from his example that such a relationship with God was possible, and desired by God.
This relationship with God motivated Dad to do things that would seem foolish to others. He quit his job teaching in one of the best school districts in the state to move His family up north to a small A-frame that we had built, in part because all our faith was increased and positively impacted by the move. He went from a tenured position at one of the best schools to teaching part time at a much smaller school and district. He trusted that God would not lead him astray. He put God first and always tried to follow his direction. In time all of us came to know God this way as well, each establishing and enjoying a personal one on one relationship with the Lord.
In a more normal ministry sense, He became involved in Cursillo and eventually was the National director for years, all in an effort to help others understand this personal relationship with God. He served the local church as a song-leader, in the choir, as a reader, a Eucharistic minister, and volunteer. He always served with a desire to deepen his relationship, and because of His love for God. His love for God, developed in the day to day interaction and personal prayer, was what motivated him in all things.
As his children, we learned from Him and all of us went on to serve the church, and spread the message of God's love in one place or another. Many of us served on N.E.T. (National Evangelization Teams) as a team member traveling around the US, sharing with young people the message of God's love. In a very real sense, part of the legacy of my Dad's life are the thousands of young people that have heard about the Lord, through that ministry. Many of Dad's grandchildren have continued this tradition and served on NET teams as well. Overall there have been tens of thousands of people who have heard about the Love of God through his children and grandchildren. Wow! What an impact a single life can have!
Throughout his life, my Dad was unrelenting in his pursuit of God, and it is fitting that the very last thing he did on earth was take his daily prayer. He passed away sitting in his prayer chair, reading through the scriptures that would be shared that day at Mass, his journal and bible by his side. He pursued God to the very end of his life and was clearly successful in that pursuit. What a way to go! As I have written before, I believe that He closed his eyes in prayer and when he next opened his eyes he was in Heaven. He suffered no trauma, and it appears his passing into eternity was instantaneous.
I believe with all my heart that when he saw Jesus he heard Him say, "Well done my good and faithful son! I love you Gene!
It is my prayer, and I know it was my Dad's, that each of us would come to know the love of God, intimately in a one on one relationship, just like my Dad experienced. He was an exceptional man, but it was His love for God and from God that made him who he was, and that love is available to us all.
Dad, I love you and will miss you every day, but I know that Your legacy continues in each of us, your children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. We are all better people and have experienced this same personal relationship with God, because of your example.
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