Florida Catholic | Our Lady of Guadalupe

Fort Myers man uses life of hardship to deepen faith

Mark DeMars faith journey is one that has been formed through trials.

KRISTINE NEUMAYER JENKINS | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 12.21.07

One in an occasional series of features on members of the faithful in the Diocese of Venice.

FORT MYERS | Mark DeMars is clear that his story isn’t one of conversion. It’s a story of his deepening relationship with God. The St. Cecilia parishioner says his faith journey has been shaped by many trials.

The most defining event happened when DeMars was 11 years old. He was hit by a car and had to be hospitalized for three months. Unconscious for the first two months, DeMars later woke up and needed to relearn everything, including how to walk. Questioning why the accident happened and feeling despondent, DeMars began to lean on God for support.

Yet, having a good relationship with God in his late childhood and teenage years didn’t prevent DeMars from straying as a young adult. In the early 1980s, he began to get involved with drugs and alcohol. Referring to the parable of the sower, DeMars said he sees his heart as being like different kinds of soil throughout his life, and during the chapter of his life he describes as “rocky soil,” he quit a good job and spent his money foolishly.

DeMars said God worked through his family and Mary to bring him out of addiction. He remembers standing in front of a shrine to Mary and suddenly praying for her to “take control of my life.” That turning point led him to rehabilitation and his family helped him turn his heart into “good soil.” He has been clean ever since.

“Since then, enough good things have happened to keep me going,” DeMars said.

Throughout his trials, he learned to appreciate his family more. DeMars said his mother is his second-favorite person after Jesus. He moved to Fort Myers in 1999 to be close to her and other members of his family.

He now attends Mass at St. Cecilia Parish almost every day. He is involved with the parish men’s group and is an usher at the 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. It is a position that seems to fit his talents.

“Very outgoing” and “gracious” are the ways Father Joseph Beattie, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, described DeMars.

“He is a person who shows the spirit of Jesus,” said Father Beattie, who knows DeMars from St. Cecilia Parish and from the Publix supermarket where DeMars works.

DeMars is still dealing with the aftereffects of his childhood car accident. He walks with a limp and has suffered neurological damage. He can become quite anxious when meeting someone new, describing those feelings as “nervies.” The good feelings, or “comfies,” are from God, he said, and they help him see God’s presence in others.

He still doesn’t have an answer to why the accident happened to him, but proposed that maybe these problems are ways he can grow closer to God.

“I’m most comfortable in the church, maybe because I’m around the person I love the most,” DeMars said.

And while he may still wonder occasionally about God’s purpose for the accident, he says that he knows the reason doesn’t matter. What matters is that he remains close to God and lives the prayer, “All for you, Jesus,” every day, he said.

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Fort Myers man uses life of hardship to deepen faith

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