Little in Stature, Mighty in Spirit

Late this afternoon, on a hillside with three crosses, I visited the resting place for the earthly body of my Little Granddaddy. He went home to be with his Shepherd one year ago today. My three sons went with me to reflect and reminisce and one said, "I wish I could hear him pray just one more time."

Granddaddy's prayers were special...just as he was himself. He interceded for his family and you knew that when you asked him to pray about something, whether privately or not, he would lift you up in prayer until the answer came.

Granddaddy was...

Always ready to tell anyone anywhere about the goodness of God...

A man of deep convictions and the rock of our family...

A hunter, a fisherman, a gardener, and a lover of desserts and cook outs...

A singer and a story teller...

An unselfish man who sacrificed for his family and his church...

A loving Daddy, wonderful Granddaddy, special Great Granddaddy and an amazing Great Great Granddaddy...

There are many awesome memories, but a few special ones were...

Hearing him preach and include references to his granddaughters that would apply to his sermon topic...

Watching him get happy, shout "whoop glory" and dance for the Lord...

Watching early home videos from the 50's and 60's...

Seeing him perform the vow renewal ceremony for my parent's 50^th wedding anniversary...he was the original minister that performed their wedding! How special was that?

One of my favorite memories occurred in December of 2007. We had planned a Christmas trip to the mountains with all the family that wanted to come, but in November, those plans changed. At first, I was terribly disappointed since I had been dreaming of all the wonderful and special things that we would get to do at Christmas.

After several nights of troubled and restless sleep, I felt in my heart that the Lord wanted me to do something and that was the reason the trip was cancelled.

"What Lord?"

"Call your Granddaddy."

"Why, what is it?"

"You need to hear his story."

So after several days of wrestling, praying, and then waiting, an answer came in the form of an idea for recording an interview with Granddaddy, making copies for the whole family, and including a transcript in the form of a scrapbook.

That interview was a changing point in my life. I had heard some of the stories before, but many of his recollections were new...and each one spoke to me in such a special way.

Two days before Christmas, early on a Sunday afternoon, I brought the completed books and DVDs to show Granddaddy. He didn't quite understand why I was leaving all the copies with him and asked,

"Won't you see all the family in the next few days? They won't be coming over here. Why don't you take these gifts with you?"

I assured him that everyone would be visiting him one day or another during the holiday.

Little did he know...

The whole family had made him a scrapbook of their favorite memories with him AND were all coming to his house that afternoon!

Well...he was surprised when eight vehicles came parading up his driveway...the expression on his face was priceless! Then he was able to return the favor and surprise the whole family with his video and transcripts.

Such a special Christmas and one I will never forget...

The last one with him...

Granddaddy left us a wonderful legacy and taught us...

To always put God first...

In the midst of the storm, remember this too shall pass...

Trust in Lord always and let Him direct your paths...

Even though we may fail the lord, He will never fail us...

I want to close this rather lengthy post with one of the stories from Granddaddy's interview...

"One day when I was probably about 5 or 6 years old, my brother and myself were out in the front yard, and I looked up and I guess a clear day and you could see the sky and you know how the sky seemed to come down to the ground, to the earth at the horizon...well, I looked up and I said, you know what? When I get old, I'm going over yonder where the sky comes down to the ground and I'm going to cut a hole through the sky and I'm going to climb up on the top of that sky hole where God and the angels are. Well, it didn't work out exactly that way, but it did work. I did get a hole through the sky. I did get to where God is and the angels are, not in person, but I got acquainted with Him. So really, it did come to pass...then in 1932 April 15th, the Lord saved me. That's when I got through the sky, see...and got to the Lord."

Thank you, Jesus, for another precious Granddaddy!