By Lori Klaus,
Contributing Writer
Energetic, passionate, and devoted are words that Paivi Bloem uses to describe her late husband, Martin. Martin loved photography, travel, and keeping up with the latest in science and technology; but Paivi says it was his strong faith in God that truly characterized his life.
Martin, who served on CSC’s Board of Governors, was diagnosed with cancer on October 5, 2018. On October 22, barely two weeks later, he went home to be with the Lord. It seemed almost incomprehensible that only the month prior he and Paivi had been travelling through their native homeland, Finland and the Netherlands, actively taking in all its sites and visiting family and friends with no inkling as to how life as they knew it was about to change. The death of someone so full of vitality (Martin had attempted to retire two years prior and it lasted only two months!) came as a shock to many; but Paivi, full of faith even in her fresh grief, knows that God ordered Martin’s life.
“Martin did not make his life. God did.”
She says it’s clear, when she looks back, that God orchestrated every part of their history – from moving to Canada and meeting each other to the incredible story of their conversion to Christ.
The year was 1974, and it was a very dark chapter for the Bloems. Martin was working excessively, struggling with destructive habits and living life independently of God and his family. Paivi felt she and Martin were strangers to each another. The long days of raising young children on her own left her feeling isolated and depressed.
God stepped in one lonely night as she went to bed early when Paivi opened a book a friend had given her called “Beyond Our Selves,” by Catherine Marshall. In it, she read phrases she’d never heard before, such as ‘born again’ and ‘Jesus in your heart.’ When she read the words, “Many people know Jesus in their heads, but they are missing life by 18 inches – from the head to the heart,” she began feeling an overwhelming desire to truly know Jesus.
The need for repentance was a very strange concept to her. There was much she didn’t understand, but she was desperate for change in her life, so she decided to pray the prayer of repentance outlined in the book. Completely unknown to her, at the very same time as she was upstairs giving her life to Christ, Martin was downstairs reading a little booklet called “Steps to Peace with God.” Martin had known he needed to change, and he had promised Paivi that things in their family would be different; but apart from the Lord’s help, life had always remained the same. That night, however, the Holy Spirit was at work in Martin, and he too prayed a prayer for salvation.
Husband and wife came to the Lord separately, and, unknown to each other, on exactly the same night!
“What now?!” was a question Martin and Paivi both asked themselves after their conversion. The Bible they had been given by the pastor who married them had sat unopened on their shelf for the past five years. They had never gone to church and had no knowledge of what their new life with Christ was supposed to look like.
Again, God stepped in – this time in the form of an American business man and his wife. This devoted Christian couple brought Martin and Paivi into their lives and led them through a Bible study by the Navigators called ‘Designed for Discipleship.” This was something Martin, in particular, couldn’t wrap his head around at the time. This man was very successful and very busy travelling all over the country, so Martin found himself asking, “Why would he care about us? Why would he take all this time and go to all this trouble?”
As he grew in his relationship with God, Martin realized the importance of discipleship and came to understand that love was what motivated the business man and his wife to do what they did. A real heart for unbelievers and new Christians developed in him, and Martin sought to disciple others in the same way he and Paivi were discipled in those early days.
Martin loved being a facilitator in the Alpha program because it gave people with questions about faith the opportunity to explore Christianity in an open, welcoming atmosphere. He was also a sponsor for Freedom Session, a mentor in the Journey program, and was part of many men’s groups over the years. Most recently, the church benefited greatly from his wisdom and experience through his involvement on the Finance committee and Board of Governors. It’s clear Martin Bloem had a heart for service, and above all, a heart for God.
It can seem to us that we lost a great man all too quickly, but Paivi knows the Lord’s hand was present in the end as much as it was all throughout Martin’s life. As friends and family prayed over him in his hospital bed, he didn’t have enough strength to say much in response, but one thing he did say in those final hours was “Amen.” It was like a declaration of the truth being spoken over him – the truth that he belonged to the Lord and would soon be welcomed into his presence.
Psalm 61:5 says, “You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.” That is a verse that comes to mind for Paivi when she thinks of Martin. Though he’s missed by many here on earth, his inheritance in heaven is great.
Thank you, Martin and Paivi Bloem, for your example and for your years of faithful service!