Matthew Remembers Granddaddy

Matt doesn't blog so he wanted me to post his comments. The picture is of last Christmas. Matt is standing directly behind Granddaddy.

My Grandfather,

One of the disadvantages of growing up in Kenya was the fact that I never got to know my grandparents very well. Despite this fact when I think of my Grandfather there is so much that I love and admire about him. I remember the first time that I met him and mom warned me that he liked to tease people. When I met him I remember looking up into his warm smiling face and the first thing he said was "There's a bug on your nose!" I remember watching him laugh as I finally caught on to the joke.

I remember going fishing with Granddaddy every time we came back on furlough. On the way back into shore he would let me drive the boat. I remember the shelves he made for me and my sisters. Mine are still hanging in my room in Michigan and I will take those with me wherever I go when I graduate from college. I remember learning to play pool in his basement. I remember his blue eyes as they sparkled with joy and laughter in everything they did.

There were so many wonderful things about him. The thing that I am the most appreciative of, however, is his faith. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without that. He was a devoted Christian in everything that he did. He raised my mother to be a Godly woman. She married my father and helped pass on that same faith to me and my two sisters. His devoted preaching and working for the Kingdom of God for over 60 years was and is an inspiration to me. His life as a humble servant of God is an example to me everyday in what I do. It is humbling, inspiring, and a bit intimidating for me to look back upon the life that my Grandfather lived.

I am so thankful for my Grandfather. I am even more thankful for the promise we have in God of eternal salvation and the fact that I will see him again someday. I know that he is with Christ in Heaven right now and has been received with a "Well done good and faithful servant." The hope we have in Christ is incredibly powerful. "So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable, it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 I love you Granddaddy.

Matthew Stephens