My Grandpa

There is a saying, "Grandpas have silver in their hair and gold in their hearts." My grandfather is very ill at this time and while I know it is inevitable that his time will come to go home with the Lord I don't think you can ever be truly ready. I didn't have much of a relationship with my grandparents growing up but the few interactions I had have remained imbedded in my mind forever. I can never eat a soft pretzel without being magically transported back to being a 9 year old little girl when my grandpa took us to get fresh soft pretzels from the factory in Pennsylvania. I remember being so timid to ask for more than just the pretzel but I wanted cream cheese with it and he told me "a pretzel just needs mustard" that is my favourite way to eat my pretzels now. When I eat swiss cheese I think of Lebanon bologna and swiss cheese on rye bread at a park in Pennsylvania. Grandpa took us there after we went to the Green Dragon flea market in Ephrata. I think of how he would let me come into his woodworking shop and let me use his soldering tool to make my name in scrap wood and he helped me make things for my siblings. I remember how haunting it sounds when he plays his guitar in the morning and sings "Farther Along". I love how he always wears Dickies, except for church of course. I love how even though he has 18 grandchildren he has always makes each of us feel special and loved. What I love most of all is how he is always praying for me. I know when my grandfather goes home to be with his Heavenly Father he will be rewarded greatly with a "Well done my good and faithful servant" but I know earth will have lost a prayer warrior, a pastor, a husband, a father, a grandpa, a great grandpa, a confidant, a counselor, and a friend. He is truly a man after God's own heart, he has dedicated his life to loving people. The loss for me will be immense but then my little 7 year old daughter made a statement at the dinner table tonight that reminds me to rejoice. She basically said that God only wants good for us and that he will never let something happen that isn't in his will. If it is great grandpa's time to go to heaven then it must be good. That is the legacy my grandfather will leave behind. A legacy of love for people and God! He has pure gold in his heart.