My grandfather died at the age of 85. He lived a long and full life. One full of blessings because of answering God's calling and living God's way of life. One full of family, hard work, service to others, music and more. He is survived by his wife, his children minus one (an uncle of mine died earlier this year), lots of grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as his younger brother and all his family (nieces and nephews). He passed on his love of God, family, music and more to all of us. His funeral was a great reminder of all of these aspects and more.
And more - it is a blessing to know that death is not the end, but that he is asleep, awaiting the resurrection to eternal life. His physical life was a blessing, but eternal life to come is an even greater blessing. So, though we have been sad and grieving, though we miss him and will continue to miss him, we have peace and hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
When we went to his burial the morning after the funeral we had over 50 people there - just family members to hug and to talk with and celebrate grandfather's life. One group picture taken was of family members wearing grandpa's "signature" shirts he loved to wear.
We will continue to listen to the music he loved and recorded, sing the songs he loved and wrote, play the card game he loved to play with us, watch the movies he loved to watch and more. God willing we all remain faithful as grandpa did, then one day we will get to tell him how much we missed him, how much we kept him a part of our lives in memory, and how we passed on what he gave to us to those in our families who will not have had the privilege of having known him personally and then they will get to meet him too.
As I recently heard someone say, it gives us one more reason to pray, "Thy kingdom come."
Singing off...blessed and happy is the man
Gina
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