Losing A Loved One

Death is just one of those things that you can never get used to. And it seems like every time you encounter it, the feeling is like something you have never experienced before. That lump in your throat you feel when you get the call that another loved one has passed away.  Or the tears that build in your eyes as you're driving to the nursing home....that's something that you just will never get used to. I experienced death today.


Today I experienced the death of my grandfather, who I was not extremely close to, but I still loved him. I loved him because he was my grandfather. He was the only grandfather I knew. He was my mom's dad. He was my grandmother's husband. He was family. And I love my family, no matter how close, or how near we may be.

I remember when my grandfather called for me one summer to come and stay with him for a while in Michigan. To this day I can't remember how long I stayed, but I remember that it was the best time and best memory I have of my grandfather. He let me ride around town in his manly pick-up truck. He let me talk on his C.B. to his trucker buddies. He took me fishing. He let me ride on the back of his lawnmower as he cut the grass. I even watched him spit tobacco. I didn't care about anything else but being with my granddaddy. And everywhere we went, he told everybody, "That's my grandson."

Such memories of loved ones may be scarce, but we should cherish those memories. God gives us a mind to remember, and a heart to feel these memories.When I saw him today as he rested peacefully, I thought about that summer in Michigan. Then I thought about how the Lord gave me the time with him then, to remember him now, and bring a special peace to my heart. A peace that was so beautifully played out that it instantly pointed me to the fact that the Lord is in control of it all.

He orchestrates life from the womb, until the time we leave this earth. He is in control. And when you let go and understand that He is in control of it all, you will experience a peace that can come from no other place.