Grandpa

My grandpa’s funeral was yesterday. In my almost 30 years, this was the first funeral I’ve ever been to, so I have no frame of reference, but I think it was good. Grandpa ran a good race, lived his life faithfully, and was welcomed into the arms of his Saviour and Lord last Thursday morning. I will miss him, but I am glad that he is Home.
At the funeral, I had to speak following my aunt Sylvia, who has spent the past few months on a marathon caring for Grandpa, and who had a special relationship with him. After she spoke, there wasn’t much I could say — literally, it was hard to talk after she did. But here’s what I tried to get out…
I have lots of good memories of grandpa. Many of them faint but happy ones from my childhood. My favorite memory though, is a recent one: bringing Ben and Abi to see their great grandfather, in his little apartment, and seeing there on his desk, his Bible. Grandpa didn’t do a lot of dusting, but his Bible had none on it, and was opened to a page he was studying.
Next to his Bible was a magnifying glass – to help him read carefully the wisdom in those pages; pages he’d studied his whole life, and still treasured in his final years.
1 Peter 3:15 says “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you, to give reason for the hope that you have. And do this with gentleness and respect.”
I don’t know many people as faithful as Grandpa was to this instruction. And I’m grateful for the example he set to his kids, his grandkids, and his great grandkids.

Bye Grandpa. See you at the end of my race — I hope I can do half as well as you did.

One thought on “Grandpa

  1. Thank you, son, for honouring the memory of this dear man. The funeral was respectful and touching, and to see him carried to his gravesite by his ten grandsons is an image I will carry for the rest of my days. What a legacy of faithfulness he left behind.

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