I haven't had a chance to just stop and take in the fact that my grandfather is no longer on this earth. In this moment, I am coming to the realization that I will not see him again until I am in heaven. Of course the knowledge of heaven and seeing him again and knowing he is happy and rejoicing gives me great joy, but there is still the dull painful ache that I have never experienced to this extent before. The world has lost a truly wonderful man and he will be remembered!
Grandpa would have been 90 this February and I have had some nod and say "ah" when mentioning this fact. I know I have done this to many who have had their grandparents die and now I wish I hadn't. The fact is... it doesn't matter what the age is... they were still very much a part of your life and the shock of death is still very real.
I had some time to clean out my closet today and I came across a box of old letters and cards that date back to high school. Now that I am in the profession of information management my mind immediately went to... are these records? Do these documents have purpose to my life and therefore need to be kept for an amount of time or can they be "deleted"? After shutting off my business mind I noticed letter upon letter of encouragement from dear friends and family and also many from my grandparents. In that moment I was so thankful to have kept these personal "archives." I am so thankful God gave my grandma the gift of writing many many letters! Currently her mind is being taken over by dementia and I think it makes the death of my grandpa that much harder. I will cling to these letters as a piece of her and my grandpa to keep for years to come.
Grandpa,
Your love for God was infectious. I always knew you were praying for me. You always came to all of my orchestra concerts, ballet recitals, plays... you name it, you and grandma were there. You supported me, you loved me. Thank you.
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| I think I was 3 when this picture was taken of us |
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| So thankful Mikayla met grandpa! |
1 comment:
Yes, grandparents can be very special and often it is only later that we realize the importance of having them in our lives. I am glad that your grandpa was one of those special ones and that you have tangible evidence that he was in your life. Hold on to them tightly. I will always remember his kindness and smile. He was always so proud of his precious granddaughters. Uncle Arvid and I are praying. Love ya. Tante Elizabeth
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