Her mom says that she processes things by writing and so she wrote a little essay about the death of her great-grandfather. But that essay did so much more. It blessed her grandmother as well.
As a child, she has no comprehension of how unusual is it is for a young child to know her great-grandparents. I only truly knew one set of grandparents. One grandfather died when my mom was a child. My mom's mom died when I was small. Although I have a few memories of her, I can't really say that I knew that grandmother. But a great-grandparent? They are only names on a family tree. However, the oldest grands will remember their great-grandpa.
So, as I read her essay, I thought of the blessing that it is to have not only parents who love and desire to raise their children in the things of the Lord, but also grandparents who love the Lord and try to encourage their grandchildren in that way, as well as great-grandparents who desire the same.
Her essay talked about what great-grandpa was seeing now that he was in heaven. And while she described the streets of gold and the gate made of a pearl and the people he would meet and greet, her focus was on the gospel.
"After I die, I will see Jesus and my great-grandpa looking at Jesus and smiling and so happy. Jesus died for us all. But we are still sinners. Jesus opened up His arms. He came into our hearts when we confess our sins to him. He gave His life so we don’t have to pay the penalty."
Her focus was not on family that he would see, but on Jesus and what He did for us so that we could spend eternity with him.
Until I saw the video recording of the funeral, I was unaware that before the funeral began (while the rest of the family was in a room off to the side of the chapel), she was walking in front of the casket, touching it reverently. How I wish I knew what she was thinking.
The end of her essay brought tears to my eyes. She ended with the lyrics to the song, "Oh How He Loves You and Me," written by Kurt Kaiser. I heard once that when he originally wrote this song, he was told it was too simplistic and he needed to write a second verse for it.
But that song, while simple is not simplistic at all, but the whole of the gospel. It has very special meaning for me. When our oldest son was very young, I began singing that song to him before he went to bed. Although we sometimes sang another song, that was the one I sang the most often. (Probably due to the fact that by the time I had him, and then later his younger brother in bed, I was too tired to think of an alternative song!) When the grands began spending the night with us, that was the song I began to sing to them. The first time I did so, they got very excited. "My daddy sings that to me."
Sometimes we are unaware of the impact that something simple like singing to a child before bedtime impacts their lives and even future generations.
But my granddaughter's essay, used to help her process her great-grandpa's death, just exemplifies how our every action impacts those around us. Little ones saw their great-grandpa follow after the Lord and know that he has gone ahead of them to heaven and when they get there, he will be waiting for them. Smiling at Jesus.
Oh, how He loves you and me, Oh how He loves you and me. He gave his life, what more could he give?
Oh, how He loves you; Oh, how he loves me; Oh, how he loves you and me.
Jesus to Calvary did go, His love for sinners to show. What He did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how He loves you; Oh, how he loves me; Oh, how he loves you and me.
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