Ode to My Grandfathers

Good Morning, Grandfather!
Did you catch the sunrise this morning as it spread out, rays stretching endlessly across water, land and sky?
Amazing how I never tire of watching the sun being born over and over again, anew each day. Every morning seems like the first dawn, full of beauty, peace and wonder. For just a moment I can put aside the world and all its demands. I can travel across time and space to any memory I choose or even create new dreams as I stare out across the earth.
Today I think again of special memories I have of you, Grandfather. Although I have many, they seem so inadequate. Your life was lived fully, your story is an epic and somehow I only got the cliff notes. No matter. There are always the photographs that endure to remind us of snapshots in time, of the fingerprints you left on the world you travelled through. There are also the stories shared by children and grandchildren. Stories that will pass down to future generations for those who ask about their roots, their ancestors, and their heritage.
Provider. Strong. Handsome. Loving Husband. Faithful Friend. Leader. Father. A Man of Few Words. These are just a few or the words that come to mind to describe you. But, I could never fully paint a picture of your whole person with plain words.
As the sun begins to set, not just for the night, but for your journey here on earth, I feel such melancholy. I feel sadness for all the things left undone and the words left unsaid. I feel like there was never enough time, never enough space. Why does everything have to move so fast? What's the rush all about anyway? Just one more chat, one more walk across the old farm, just one more story around the campfire, one more hug, one more sunrise, one more something, anything. All the memories, all the stories, all the photographs, will never be enough to capture it all.
This fleeting life is difficult to grasp. We were meant to live forever in God's presence, not limited to some cursed timetable. My only joy and peace is to know that one day I'll meet you there, on the other side, with the entire host of all the prophets and saints that have served God during their generation here on earth and have gone on before us. What a comfort to know that all the restrictions will be lifted, there will be no more rush, no more distance between us, no more regrets or lost time to make up.
I know you will receive the reward we so long for, to hear Our Father say, "My good and faithful servant", welcome home. I promise to press on with faith, hope and love, knowing that my work here is not done. I still have a few more sunrises to enjoy, a few more heartaches to endure and many lost souls to fight for. Please pray that I might finish the race as well as you. May my life be an acceptable sacrifice to my Lord , my Saviour, my Gracious Jesus.

With Love that lives beyond time and space,

Your granddaughter

The Lost Art of Day Dreaming

As I was setting this up, it occurred to me how little time I spend on reading and writing. One of the most beautiful things in living day to day is to discover new ideas, new ways of doing things, new ways to communicate. Somehow, those things are never written down or captured and soon they are gone, whisked away with the business of the day. All day long I have wonderful little discoveries, but the moment comes and goes before I can truly appreciate it.
There are several library books on the floor next to my bed. I'm sure each one is full of amazing thoughts, conjectures and dreams that I would never think of myself, and yet by opening up a piece of writing from someone else, I can travel through time and space and discover with them new ways to see the world and the beautiful people in it. But somehow, there is dinner to be made, groceries to be bought and I didn't make time to grow.