Celebrating the life of my dad

The video slideshow below is what I put together for my dad, Bob Sousa's, Celebration of Life Service.

SONGS IN ORDER:

Goodness of God by Praise & Harmony

Holy Forever by Chris Tomlin, CAIN

I Know A Name by Brandon Lake, CeCe Winans

Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson, Gabe Real

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Below, I am sharing what I wrote and read for my dad's service.

From Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,    because the Lord has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to comfort all who mourn,to bestow on them a crown of beauty    instead of ashes,the oil of joy    instead of mourning,and a garment of praise    instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called mighty oaks,    a planting of the Lord    for the display of his splendor.

Hello & welcome… I am Nicole Trujillo, Bob’s oldest daughter. My husband Eduardo and our 3 boys Jude, Jesse and Jean are right there. Thank you to everyone for being here today to show your love and appreciation for my dad  and your support for our family. Whether you called him Bob, Bobby, Bobber1, or some other form  of Robert (his actual name)…I’m sure you will miss him dearly.

The smell of sawdust and the sound of a skillsaw; the smell of freshly popped popcorn with just the right amount of melted butter along with the sound of ice cold Pepsi fizzling in a giant cup; ………the sound of a Colin Raye or Vince Gill song playing on repeat. The smell of fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.

These are the smells and sounds I will never experience without thinking about my dad. Now, whether you knew my dad from working with him, having the privilege of him doing a remodel or fixing something at your house, playing softball with him, being a part of his family, or knowing him through some other avenue - I bet you would say he was always striving to do his best at whatever he did. Some might even venture to say he was a perfectionist….

Maybe you remember the way he grilled a tri-tip on the BBQ “just to perfection” or the way he laid those bathroom tiles “just to perfection”, or the way he tossed that outside pitch to the edge of the mat on an 0-2 count “just to perfection”.

When it came to being a husband and father, it was no different. He always treated  my mom with the utmost love and respect. He never raised a hand at her, let alone his voice- he treated her like a queen and gave her everything she wanted, and when she needed some gentle reminders of reality or groundedness, he was there to humbly and quietly offer his advice. He took care of my mom’s family as if they were his own, cared for her sisters and brothers as if they were his own flesh and blood - that was never lost on me- even as a small girl.

As a father, he always seemed to have some surprise up his sleeve, whether it was another trip to a Disney park, a new swimming pool for the backyard, a special lobster dinner for Valentines day for us, his girls, or a beautiful piece of furniture he built by hand himself - he was always thinking of ways to bring us joy and show us how much he loved us. As a father to only females, he wouldn’t even bat an eye when he was driving around an astro van full of giggly teenage girls talking about all sorts of silly teenage girl stuff. He’d even throw in a question or a little joke here and there, which made all my cousins and friends love him so much.

He was as happy watching Enchanted or Princess Diaries as he was This Old House or ESPN highlights. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of  my sisters and I all sitting on the living room floor in our nightgowns, surrounding my dad after he got home from a side job and had showered. He’d get his giant yellow popcorn bowl on his lap and his 2 liter of Pepsi next to him, his legs stretched out in front of him, watching ESPN or Home Improvement, and we’d just sit there and eat popcorn with him, and drink Pepsi and ask him questions and laugh at whatever we were watching.

Somehow he was at almost all my sports games in Jr high and high school. I mean the man worked full time and also literally always had a side job where he would go back to someone’s (let’s be honest of you here) house from 4-10pm remodeling a bathroom or kitchen, or tearing up nasty carpet or fixing someone’s toilet- BUT somehow he was always in the stands when I looked for him- with that little smirk and twinkle in his eye he always had. As a parent now, I really understand how much effort he had to put in to make that happen. He never yelled at me from the stands (maybe the ref just a few times), and he would only give me advice gently, especially if I looked at him with pleading eyes, out of breath from the middle of the court in a playoff game. If there’s one thing my 2 sisters and I would all say without a doubt is WE ALWAYS KNEW WE COULD COUNT ON MY DAD. And we always knew he loved us.

So, although my dad may have done a perfect job at making diagonal lines when he mowed the grass, or been able to cook the perfect breakfast gravy, or been able to hit the softball to that perfect spot right in the hole in right center - deep down he knew he wasn’t perfect and never would be. He was a sinner just like all of us here. That’s why when he was a young adult he invited Jesus Christ to be his Lord & Savior and save him from his sins. He knew no matter how hard he tried, nothing he DID could actually get him to heaven. He knew only the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus from his death on the cross, could truly save him from sin and give him the hope of eternal life in heaven, which thank God is where my Pops is at at this very moment. Basking in the glory of God (and I’m sure visiting with his mom & dad and others who have gone before him). He’s also probably talking carpentry with Jesus…and maybe asking one of the angel architects, “are you sure you want to use gold on the countertops in this mansion? If it were me, I’d go with something harder like granite….”

He spent his life showing love and serving others, and when we found out 11 years ago that he had developed cancer in his body and were told he probably wouldn’t live more than a couple more years- we shouldn’t have been surprised when his positive outlook and strong willed perfectionism got him way farther than any doctor ever expected! He suffered through many trials and tribulations, pain and challenges, on his cancer journey, all while still being an amazing and present husband, father, friend, co-worker and servant to his community; and would usually just say, “I’m good,” with a smile on his face when people asked him how he was doing.

Folks, that strength and that endurance that you saw in my father over the last 11 years didn’t just come from his personality. That came from a deep well of power that he pulled from, known as the Holy Spirit of Jesus, in order to ultimately glorify God and show others the realness of God. As I read earlier from Isaiah 61, They will be called mighty oaks,    a planting of the Lord    for the display of his splendor.

So, as you go on with your lives and every now and then are joyfully reminded of my dad, and I’m sure some funny thing he said to you or some slightly OCD way he tried to tell you how to do something - I also want you to think of Jesus and how my dad was able to show (not perfectly) but show the love and servanthood of Jesus to [hopefully you] and others. Because ultimately that’s all Jesus wants from from us out of this life - to love and serve others just as he did when he was on earth, and to believe that he is the Son of God that saves us from our sins.

I love you Pops, and I can’t wait to play catch with you in heaven when I get there.