by Ricky Doc Sauceda
(Dedicated to Gilbert Gonzales III, my cousin)
Jonah 1:14-17
Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
This past week my cousin Little Gilbert called me. He had a few things to share with me. His youngest sister has a brain aneurysm and had a previous operation to attach clips below the base in order to control blood pressure. There seemed to be a concern by her doctor that too much pressure had moved the clips. So on Friday, July 7, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., another brain operation was conducted to make certain the clips were in correct position.
He also shared that his onset adult diabetes was out of control and he was feeling very sick. We had a deep conversation regarding that matter. We plan on getting together and spend time as workout buddies - I have never had one. I have always done this alone, but I like his idea.
Thirdly, he shared about a strong dream he had about my Daddy, his great-uncle. This dream is very much like ones I experience and it impacted his mind and spirit to reach out to me. He had not realized how much he valued, loved and missed my Daddy.
In his dream he is walking on a beach and it is darkish and very stormy. The rain is falling hard and it is windy. As he walks the beach he comes upon a fisherman at the shore of the beach. Lo and behold it is his beloved great-uncle Richard.
My Daddy had in his hands a deep sea rod and reel and had caught something big that was bending the pole completely over. He had a strong and firm grip and would not let go of his catch. He was in a mighty battle. (My Daddy used to actually use this kind of fishing equipment on a regular basis.)
Little Gilbert called out,"Uncle Richard can I help you with your catch. Do you need help holding the pole?" My Daddy looked at him and smiled and spoke no words. He was sporting a pair of sunglasses, the kind with small lenses just over the eyes.
Little Gilbert decides to go out to the catch and help Daddy drag it in. He is following the fishing line and starts seeing the body and size of what was at the end. As the waves settled between each pounding, he could see a silhouette of a whale sized shark. It was actually beached and could not get away, nor could it be brought to shore due to it's massive size.
Daddy was fighting to keep it in that beached position. He was enjoying the battle. Knowing my Daddy, he knew exactly what was on the end of that line. Growing up as his one son, I witnessed him do things like this from time to time: he encountered alligator gar, giant sized turtles and other big creatures on fishing outings... these were a very common thing for him.
Looking back at the areas of life are like a big monster that returns, and they do. I feel in my heart that my cousin has been praying very hard as of late. He and his wife are reborn Christians, as am I. He believes...firmly.
Daddy is someone in his life that he loved and respected. He spent time with him in his last years before passing away in October of 1995. A small group of family and friends were at his funeral.
My Daddy was very point blank and full of good Christian love at the end of his life. Little Gilbert remembers how patient, kind and generous that he was. He has someone to love and look up to...we all do.