In Memory of My Dad: August 10, 1958 - March 7, 2009

Mark Clymer’s Testimony

Written by Nicole Youel (Clymer)

These are the words I spoke at my dad's funeral.

It is amazing how the Lord uses trials in our lives to bring us to Him.  I want to share with you what has gone on in my dad’s life this year.  He has an amazing testimony that I know he would love for you all to hear. 

Earlier last year Dad was told after multiple surgeries, chemo treatments, and radiation that there was nothing else they could do for him.  I remember the phone call like it was yesterday.  He was so scared and depressed.  I told him that he could come stay with Kevin and I to see what Mayo Clinic could do for him.  Not even two weeks later Kevin and I were picking him and Nina up from the airport.  Dad had his appointment with the doctors at Mayo, and the news did not get any better.  There was nothing more that Mayo could do for him.  That night Dad, Nina, Kevin and I were in the living room talking.  Dad asked “Why would God allow everything to happen so smoothly and allow me to be seen at Mayo only to find out that there was nothing else that can be done?”  I told Dad that the Lord answered my prayer.  You see I had been praying that I would have the opportunity to share with my dad what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ.  I was willing to take time off work and stay with him if needed.  But, God brought him to me instead.  We all talked that night about the purpose of life, what had to be done to accept Christ, and if you choose to have faith what Christ can do to comfort you.  I will never forget what my dad said that night.  He said, “You are right, the Lord did answer your prayers and I understand now.” My dad went from hanging his head because he was depressed to trusting the Lord over night.  He went to bed and woke up a new man.  God is powerful and the change that happened in my dad’s life that night was only something God can do. 

The next few weeks were the best memories I will have of my dad.  He would call me and talk nonstop about Christ.  He asked question after question about what things meant in the Bible and asked me what I believed on certain things. One afternoon he called me and told me that he had been completely healed from cancer.  He stated he had read over scripture with a man and asked the Lord to heal him.  I know my God is powerful enough to heal, but I just agreed with dad and said that would be amazing if you were, but please don’t be angry at God if you are not.  About a week later at his appointment the doctor said, “Well, Mark, you have no cancer in your adrenaline gland, no cancer in your pancreas, no cancer in your liver and no cancer in your lymph nodes. You are cancer free!!!” God did heal him. Over the next few months my dad grew more and more close to Christ. He was able to spend this time encouraging and supporting other friends that were fighting for their life due to cancer.   I know God healed my dad to give him the faith he would need to get through the last few months of his life. 

When Dad got the news about 6 months ago that his cancer came back, it was hard news to hear.  I never heard him question why he was going through all of this. In fact, he told me that he knew this was the only way that God would have been able to get his attention. He never blamed God and knew he was going through this due to his choices in life.  While he was visiting Kevin and I he told me that no one could have told him anything that would have made him change the way he lived his life, it took cancer.  He never gave up hope.  He laughed at times when he could have been crying.  He joked around with the doctors at the hospital when he shouldn’t have felt like joking.  He did have some really bad days, and I am sure Nina is the only one who knows how bad those days really were.   There were so many things he said to me in his last months which I wish I would have written down. 

The wonderful thing about today is I can say I know for certain that my dad is not suffering right now.  He is with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know this is due to last year in my living room when he chose to make Christ Lord of his life.  I could not imagine having to say goodbye to my dad knowing he was not spending eternity in heaven.  Friday afternoon was the last time I spoke to Dad.  I asked him if he was angry knowing he only had a short time left.  I loved his answer.  He said. “No, I’m ready to go.  I just don’t want too and I am not ready to leave Nina and Wes.”  We talked about how good it felt to have the peace of knowing that there were only two places he could go, and he was going to heaven.  Christ is the only way to heaven and he understood that before it was too late.

It now has been three years since my dad went home to be with the Lord.  This year as I sit here watching Logan swing, I think about how much I wish my dad would have been able to meet Logan. I will have to pass on everything my dad enjoyed doing to Logan.  He will know how much my dad enjoyed fishing, gardening, hunting, and cooking. I have high hopes that Logan will enjoy many of the same hobbies my dad enjoyed!