If you've ever met my grandpa, you know the kind of man he was. If you've never met him, but you've heard me talk about him, you know how important he was in my life. You know that he loved Jesus with his whole life and you know that he lived generosity and humility every moment of every day. You know that he had seemingly unending patience (I sure do! I'm pretty sure I wasn't the easiest child to deal with sometimes, but he always had grace to extend to me) and that he always had something sweet to share, whether it was candy, donuts, ice cream, or a sweet word. You know that he had the best practical jokes and you've never looked at a pancake the same way since the first time you had his pancakes. If you've ever met my grandpa, you probably loved him. You know that he lived his whole life waiting for the day when he would meet Jesus. If you've ever met my grandpa, you know that he will be incredibly missed by all who knew him. But you know that he died in faith, not having received the things promised and that he's now in heaven, with more joy than he could have ever dreamed of and he's received all that was promised and more. If you've ever met my grandpa, you know that he and my grandma were like two halves of a whole and that he'd been missing her something fierce for the last two and a half years. If you'd spent time with my grandpa during those two and a half years, you know the he sometimes couldn't remember that she was gone and often thought that she'd gone on some trip and hadn't called for months. If you'd spent time with my grandpa during that time, your heart broke every time he said something along those lines. You know that, even in his memory-challenged state, he was never unsure about what God had called him to here on earth. If you've ever met my grandpa, your heart is overflowing with joy on his behalf because everything that he ever hoped for, everything he ever dreamed about, everything he ever worked toward, has come to fruition. If you've ever met my grandpa, you can easily picture him walking up to the throne of God for the first time and hearing God welcome him saying, "well done, My good and faithful servant."
Never have I known another such man. Never have I seen another such love for others. All others. Never have I heard another man preach the love of Jesus with such conviction. Never have I seen such generosity. Incredible generosity. Heaven got to welcome home the best of the best on Good Friday. The sacrifice of Jesus and His victorious resurrection had never meant as much to me before as it did this year. My heart is sad that I won't get to see my grandpa and tell him that I love him and hold his hand again this side of heaven, but my sadness is nothing compared to the joy I know that he is currently experiencing. How can I nurse a broken heart when I know that his is fuller than it's ever been? I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to go visit my grandpa every year for the past few years. I'm so grateful that I got to tell him that I loved him every time I left and that every time I left, I knew it could be the last, so I never wasted a goodbye. I'm grateful for the time I got to spend with both of my grandparents and for everything that they taught me. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without having them around and I am so full of joy knowing that they are together again, and with God, whom they lived their entire lives for. My heart is broken and full and that's ok.
