Journey with Ang: March 2011

CELEBRATING 90 YEARS!

My grandpa has always been my hero. The wisdom, compassion, love, unswirving devotion, and faithfulness he shows is one of a kind. I'm not sure I can addequetly describe my grandpa and what he means to me. He is always giving. I don't know anyone else who loves Jesus more than my grandpa and has spent 90 years faithfully serving Christ. He is the type of man who never talks about himself but rather prays for the needs of others around him. My grandpa was so devoted to his wife and is to his daughters. Even when he couldn't really take care of grandma, he tired. Every morning he prays for every single member of the family. He is also the smartest man I know. If you ask him, he could tell you all about WWII and his job during the war. His memory is impeckable. Just recently when down in FL he navigated all around the area for us telling us all about the city and showing us places that he stayed at on buisness trips over 40 years ago. Not only is he smart, but he continues to work. He loves working and still at the age of 90 he works part time for an accounting firm. My grandpa loved my grandma so much. Even in the end when she couldn't give anything back, he found in the Lord the grace and capacity to spend himself for her. What an example of Christ's love. That type of love was built over a lifetime. He didn't just give of himself for a season, but rather he spent a lifetime of practicing selfless love. For that model and example alone, I am so grateful to my grandpa for showing me.

My grandfather also holds another special place in my heart. He is the one who I look at and model what a Godly man looks like. I haven't always had the best fatherly example in my life. So having a grandpa who would move mountains for me is something I always cherish. My grandpa and I became very close when I had my accident. I had to be taken to therapy every day (sometimes twice a day) when I came home. At least twice a week, grandpa would drive all the way over, pick me up at home, put the wheelchair in the car, and drive me to therapy. He was there for all the small victories, all the little steps in my recovery. There wasn't a single time when he would not tell me how good I was doing and how hard I was working. Without question, he would always take me out for lunch after therapy. Schlotzski's Deli will forever be grandpa and my restaurant. In fact, the guy at the counter was so accustomed to seeing us and me go through all of my rehab (from walking in with a walker, to crutches, to a cane) that he said the day I come in without anything he would buy my grandpa and I a free meal. That day came and it will forever be a memory that grandpa and I have. I love my grandpa, not just because he is my grandpa, but because he life has been such an example to me of Christ. He serves and loves others unconditionally.