GOOD BYE GEORGE ACKEL!

By -
My friend George Ackel died suddenly yesterday. Complications following a medical procedure took his life, leaving everyone stunned.

George was a larger than life kind of guy. A big, burly bear of a man...loud and opinionated, he growled at the slightest provocation, intimidating most people, inadvertently scaring others. But behind that tough, gruff exterior rested a gentle teddy bear, with a big heart and deeply rooted loyalties.

George called me several days ago, asking for prayers as he shared the shocking news. One doctor told him he may have throat cancer, while another diagnosed a blockage of the heart. Within a few days, a second opinion made him believe he didn't have cancer, but he wouldn't know for sure until he underwent an exploratory procedure. We talked often, as he rode the emotional roller coaster that left him more stressed than ever. Yet-somehow, he remained stoic and strong and hopefully optimistic.

I got the phone call about George's passing-as I drove out of town to a meeting tied to Medjugorje. The timing struck me, because 20 years before while I was also out of town, giving a talk on Medjugorje, I received a phone call telling me George's dad had dropped dead of a heart attack. Yesterday's phone call felt like deja vu.

Life is precious...here today, over tomorrow...gone without warning. Loved ones cross over to the world beyond-before we are ready...and too often, long before we expect them to.

So get in touch and stay in touch, say you're sorry, show your gratitude...and thank your lucky stars that your Loved ones have made it through another day.

Those of us who knew and Loved George will miss his energy and the indelible imprint of his life which kept everyone talking. That robust soul-who I am confident, is stirring things up on the other side of eternity and causing the powers that be to wonder, "What was the sudden rush?!"

Comments

JenAckel said…
I really enjoyed reading this! I have recently began to look into my family history and George was a 2nd cousin of mine. Your memoir of him was informative and touching. Thank you and God bless.

Jennifer Ackel
January 21, 2011
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUBLIME AUDACITY!

By -
Image
I have all the signs and symptoms of something I just learned about today...Sublime Audacity. That's right...I have the audacity to believe-that anything is possible-anything at all-with God. In fact, I believe that there is one cure for all the world's ills...and that cure rests with -and in God. In a world of material wealth, individual desires and carefully orchestrated managed care...When people search the world over for the answers that never come, the healings that rarely happen and the hope that always gets dashed by the next person...I believe that there is only one steady stream of consciousness that always gets it right...and that is God. I've personally experienced it time and again and every time I look elsewhere or seek some other solution, I always come crawling back to the staying power of my higher power...Because let's face it...Once we have the audacity to tell anyone-anyone at all that God is responsible for all the good in our lives or the Love that
Read more

OUR LADY OF JOY, HANCEVILLE ALABAMA

By -
Image
High atop a hill in Hanceville Alabama, broken hearts are being healed and hope is being restored. Our Lady of Joyful Hope is a community of young men who are finding new freedom through a life of authentic truth. Once lost in the darkness of addiction they are now living in the light of Christ who is transforming them from the inside out...And their families, if they are open and willing, are being transformed right alongside them. Recently, I spent three days with this community, listening to the young men, their parents and to the foundress, Mother Elvira, who flew in from Italy for the anointing of the new community house and the celebration that followed. Mother Elvira's life story is on par with Mother Teresa. She is an Italian nun who heard the call from God to snatch souls from Satan by delivering young men and women from the demonic grip of addiction. She gave up everything familiar, walked straight into the wilderness and wound up becoming a living legacy for desperate fa
Read more

HRUSHIV UKRAINE: APPARITIONS OF THE BLESSED MOTHER

By -
Image
Twenty four years ago today, April 27, 1987 the Blessed Mother allegedly appeared in Hrushiv Ukraine with a warning and words of consolation. She came on the Feast of the Ascension, exactly one year after the nuclear reactor disaster at Chernobyl saying "Do not forget those who have died...Chernobyl is a reminder and a sign for the whole world." In 1990 while producing a television documentary in Ukraine, I visited Hrushi and interviewed a handful of people who had witnessed the apparition above the church of the Holy Trinity. In all, some five hundred thousand witnesses claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary over a four month period. Mary apparently told them she came to thank the Ukrainian people because they had suffered so much at the hands of a raging lion who had been prowling around seeking whom he could devour. She said their suffering would come to an end and one day Ukraine would become an independent state. She then urged disciplined, Christian fortitude, "
Read more