Papa

 D.O. and Martha Jane Huddle, circa 1943

So many thoughts flood my mind. And I am going to try and write them down. I love that picture of my grandparents above. So in young and in love. Wish I could have known them then; I wish I could go back in time to when this picture was taken.

My grandfather passed away on Wednesday night. I am so thankful that I got to see him one last time and say good-bye. God is good. My mom and I had planned since last week to go see him on Thursday, but we decided it would be best to move it up. Patrick and my mother-in-law, were so helpful and stayed with the kids so that I could be with Papa and my parents the whole day. Shortly after I got home, my mom called to tell me that he had passed away.
Also, when I got home, I learned that a friend, younger than me, went to be with Jesus that same morning, after her battle with cancer. Two deaths in one day. 

There's something about death that is sobering, isn't there? There is something about it that puts things into perspective. A couple of friends and I were talking last night about how death is hard no matter how well you knew someone. Death is hard to bare, because it was not the original design. At the Fall, sin brought Death. Sin brought separation. Death brings separation now, in the present. 

I think for that reason - that it wasn't what God intended in the beginning - we all feel a tinge of sadness even for those that die that we don't even know. We can all relate to the separation that it brings those that loved them. We empathize with their loss because death comes to everyone and it causes us to pause and remember that we are but dust. It reminds us of our humanity and the fragility of life. 

For the ones watching their loved one die - the life they lived stares you in the face. All of its beauty, failure, regrets, imperfections. All that was and that could have been. And it makes me think about my own life. It makes me ask myself, about the silly things in life "will this matter after I am gone?" Death reminds me that the only things in this life that are eternal are the souls of man and the Word of God. It challenges me to remember that people are what matter. It reminds me to leave a legacy for my children. A legacy of a life that glorified God. I want to be remembered for loving Jesus, loving my family, my friends and the least of these (Matthew 25:40). I don't want to be remembered for having an organized closet and keeping a clean refrigerator (good thing, because currently those are both in bad shape). But you get the point. This is the perspective that death brings. And for that I am thankful.

We mourn the loss of my grandfather. He wasn't a perfect man. He was a broken man like the rest of us. But he loved his family and his friends well. He was generous and had helped many people over the years. He buried his wife of 64 years, just 4 years ago. He leaves behind 2 children, 4 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. I am going to miss you, Papa. 

My Granny and Papa at our wedding reception, September 15, 2001

~cheryl~