Last night, I received some hearbreaking news.  My grandpa passed away yesterday.  From what my mom told me, he went peacefully, in his sleep.

This is very devastating news for me to receive.  Especially with what has been going on with my dad.

My last time that I saw grandpa was on Father’s Day.  He was in his bed, and I told him that I went to church, and that I was reading through the Psalms.  And I will not forget the look on his face.  His face lit up like the sun and he said “You are?  Oh, that’s good!”

My grandpa is now in a much better place.  He has ascended to heaven.  A beautiful paradise that he’ll be able to enjoy forever.  I am sure that his brother Ken was one of the members of the welcoming committee up there.

With my grandpa in heaven now, I would like to say a few things about him.  A few fond memories that I had with him that I enjoyed.

First of all, I owe it to grandpa for being such a wonderful influence in my life.  It was grandpa that helped me come to know who the LORD is.  From a very young age, he taught me the bible and I learned about it through songs (The B-I-B-L-E, Jesus Loves Me), videos (Kids Sing Praise, Psalty, Quigley’s Village), and bible studies.

One Christmas night, I will never forget what grandpa did.  In tears, he wanted all of his grandchildren to come to know who the LORD is.  It was that Christmas that everyone was there.  Me, my brother, my sister, my parents, my aunt Kari, uncle John, my cousins Sean (and his wife Elyse), Colin, and Kelsey, my aunt Sherrie and uncle Kirk, my cousins Margo and Karlee, my uncle Kelly, and course, my grandma and grandpa.  We were all there.  And grandpa was in tears.  Knowing God was important to him and it was also important to me.

Grandpa has always been loving and caring and worked hard in his earlier years.  In the later years when he moved back to Michigan, I went to church with him and grandma and regularly ate breakfast with them afterwards.  Grandpa, I will miss enjoying a smothered omelet at Stackers while I update you on what’s going on in my life.

In life, the most important thing is how we live it.  How we influence others.  How did we love them?  How did we treat them?  Grandpa did all of this well during his brief 89-year journey on earth.  For me, I know that I have lost someone very important and dear to me in my life.  But grandpa would want me to keep moving.  To use everything that I have learned from him to be a great influence to others.  To love one another the way Christ first loved us.

Grandpa, I’m going to really miss you.  I know that you always liked building things and doing things with your hands.  I look forward to seeing what you have built in heaven.  I’ll send you the right materials, so be sure that you use them.  I’ll see you in heaven, whenever that is.  I love you.

 

Muse:  I am very sorry to hear about grandpa.

It’s okay.  He’s in a better place now.

Muse:  This is not a time for me to be a time traveler.  That’s hanging in the costume room for today.  I’ll resume that tomorrow.

Thanks.  Now to finish this entry.

Today’s high is going to be 80 degrees and the silver lining is being able to reflect on the life of my grandpa.

To those of you who have grieved over the loss of a loved one,  I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

 

Muse:  *sniff* *sniff*  I’m going to miss him.  Hang in there, Kyle…