To the best Grandpa ever

Death is an ugly thing, but in also allows for a look back at the past, to times of great fun and joy.

I guess growing up, I never realized the closeness of my relationship with my grandpa was unusual. Every day after school from kindergarten through 5th grade I got to hang out with my grandpa and grandma. Getting babysat by your grandparents is not something all kids get to enjoy, but I was fortunate enough to have it.

My Grandpa was the kindest and most heart-warming individual I knew. He was always there to crack jokes and play games, and even pretended to be impressed with my Lite Brite skills (they weren't very good). But more importantly, you could always just feel the love seeping from his every pore. That deep-seeded love was something I will never forget, whether it was on the way down to Florida in a minivan with him, or eating with him at lunchtime.

I was a picky kid when it came to eating, and my grandpa always accommodated. I wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich "with no cracks" every day. This was pretty tricky - have you have tried to fold over a piece of bread with something inside, and not make a crack? Well my grandpa got pretty good at it, and who knows how much perfectly good sandwiches he had to get rid of to accommodate my weird eating habits.

I've been told that my grandpa had a bit of a mean streak to him in his younger days - yelling at refs in basketball games and such. It's hard for me to believe though, because I never saw that side of him. Perhaps, though, his passion for sports is what is deep inside me.

His battle with Alzheimer's for the past 10 years or so has been a difficult thing for all of my family to handle. But his amazing heart and kindness always shined through, no matter what his cognitive state. You could still feel the love that he had for you, even if he was completely uncomfortable and confused on where he was. His eyes lit up anytime he saw us, or especially a child, and that's why I know he has to be loving heaven right now. Imagine all the corny jokes he can crack again and the kids he can make smile.

I'll miss you grandpa, but I know it was your time to go. Go love on grandma and save a place for me down the road.

Love,

Tyler

Thoughts in the New Year

Ezekiel 36:22 - “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.”

I find the Ezekiel passage interesting, because it strikes me as God being prideful. Perhaps He has a reason to be - I mean He actually did create the world and all. So I started looking at my NIV study Bible notes, and it actually described the the passage much differently. God is not blessing Israel for his own sake, and just bringing along Israel for the ride because he has to. Nope, He wants to bring Glory to his name and blessing Israel is the best way to do that - despite their past behavior which hardly warrants blessing.

This got me thinking about the "Prosperity Gospel" preached by guys like Joel Osteen and Dave Ramsey. Is it, perhaps, that God is blessing you, through money and other things, but is doing so for His own glory? Think about it - does God continually want to make a Christian’s life difficult without any blessings? What kind of God would want that? Blessing us may sometimes be a way for him to reveal his Glory through us. This doesn’t mean that we won’t run into hard times or difficult trials - we grow through those tribulations, just as many great Christians have before us. But when we declare that we are Christians, just as the Israelites claimed they were Yahweh's people - His name is being portrayed in some way - good or bad. Others need to see God’s glory through us, and what better way than through blessing us.

Here is another tidbit (unrelated) from my new “C.S. Lewis Bible,” which puts excerpts from Lewis’s books next to passages that relate.

C.S. Lewis - You must realize from the outset that the goal towards which He is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the whole universe, except you yourself can prevent Him from taking you to that goal. - Mere Christianity