To God Be the Glory

A year ago yesterday, my Grandpa passed into the gates of eternity.

I can't believe it's been a year.

Last June when my family and I traveled down to Virginia for the funeral, I was a very different person.  So, so, young I seemed now that I look back.  And so ill-prepared for death.

Now, the only two things you need to know about my family are that we like to eat and we like to hug.  We are a truly wonderful family that I can't thank God enough for.  I think the biggest thing that I miss about my Grandpa is seeing him sit at the head of the table at Christmas dinner, saying a prayer over his wife, his four children and children-in-law, and his twelve grandchildren.

When we go visit my Grandma, the house feels different.  I told my parents one time that Grandma and Grandpa are like salt and pepper, they have to go together.  My Grandpa loved his apple pie, his tea, his chair, his baseball caps, his corny jokes, his birds, his country, his family, his wife, and most of all, his God.

I can't express enough thanks for the legacy he set forth in my family, a legacy of faith and love.  The last time we visited you, I could tell it would be the last time I'd see you here on Earth.  I hugged you as hard as I could, and you had that sweet, sweet smile on your face as you kissed me on the cheek.  My Mom told me later that you told her how beautiful I was as you were saying goodbye to her.  Grandpa, that meant more than I can say.  I remember after my Mom told me that, I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and tried to figure out what you meant.

You saw my heart.  And God knows it's not beautiful yet, but you knew it would be.

I wrote this last June after the funeral, and I've never shared it with anyone until now.  But it sums up everything:

There was a last time I kissed my Grandpa on the cheek,
Or saw him grin at me.
There was a last time
He took a breath on this Earth,
A last time cancer said "game over",
And his oxygen tank gasped
Like his breath.
There was a last time he drank his tea,
Or rocked in his favorite chair.
A last time
My cousin shouted "Paga!"
And jumped into his arms.
There was a last time
He kissed his wife,
Or polished off an apple pie.
A last time
He cracked a corny joke
And chuckled to his heart's content,
Or stubbornly insisted
On walking on his own.
And there was a last time
That cancer took away his life
But could not, did not, will not, has not, cannot,
Take away our hope.
And that is why I know,
In heaven, Grandpa,
Your are dancing,
You are singing,
You are smiling,
Telling jokes,
And laughing.
You are staring right at Jesus.
Someday,
Very soon,
For the first time,
I can kiss you on the cheek,
Hug your cancer-free body,
Someday,
Where sickness is banished,
And no time is kept,
And no years go by.
At home.
Where there will be no last times.

We miss you, Grandpa.  I miss you.  And I love you very much.  And I will see you soon.

To God be the glory,
To God be the glory,
To God be the glory,
For the things He has done.

...Love, Anna...