Poppop

I've written three eulogies in the past 6 years...a brother, a son and a grandfather. Each one's been hard to write, but good. I'm a writer (in my own mind anyway). I stare at the blinking cursor on the blank screen, spit out everything inside of me, and move on.

So here's the latest thing that I "spit out"...after I kissed my grandfather goodbye, got into my car, drove three hours from PA to MD, parked my car, and received this text before I even got out of my car: Poppop gone 3:48. Tears didn't spring to my eyes immediately. I felt so relieved! So glad to hear that the man I just saw three hours beforehand was now dancing with Jesus at Home instead of breathing hard breaths at home. Finn, my three-year old who didn't even know why I suddenly became teary-eyed randomly looked at me and said, "Poppop is going to see Chayton."  I asked him how he knew that and he said, "I just know, Mommy." As simple as that. As I told a friend earlier in the week, three-year olds just get it.

Here's what I shared at my grandfather's funeral:

In Randy Alcorn’s book, In Light of Eternity he says, “The best part of heaven is that we’ll be with our bridegroom, Jesus. Second best? We’ll be with our family and friends who know God. That’s why, when Christian loved ones die, God tells us not to grieve like those who have no hope, but to comfort and encourage each other by anticipating the ultimate family reunion. That’s why heaven should mean more to us every time a friend moves there.”

Over the past 6 years, heaven has become more and more precious to our family. I never would have imagined that heaven would become such a common topic of conversation in our house. Some might think it’s unsettling to speak so freely of death, but our children are already learning at a young age what Philippians 3:20-21 means which states, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Kinsley said it best when she said, “Poppop’s body is still here on earth but his soul is in heaven where he’ll get a new body.”

There are three things that I knew about Poppop. (1) He loved Jesus. (2) He loved Mimi. And (3) he loved his grandchildren. One moment that I will forever cherish with Poppop was actually a very simple but profound moment that occurred several years ago. My mom had come down to Maryland to baby sit our kids for us while Gene and I went away overnight. She actually somehow convinced Mimi and Poppop to come with her, too. Before we left, I remember going up to my bedroom where Mimi and Poppop were going to be staying while Gene and I were gone. The door was half closed, and inside I saw Poppop sitting in my chair having his devotions. I watched him through the door as he read his bible. At one point I must have gone in because he told me that he had something for me. He pulled out this small, ratty looking piece of pink construction paper. On it was the word “Poppop” written in crayon. Then in small letters written at the bottom was “From Renee” in his handwriting. This little piece of probably 25 year-old seemingly meaningless chicken scratch was a treasured bookmark in his bible. He gave it back to me that day, and I framed it. He loved his grandchildren. He never missed a softball game, baseball game or basketball game. Even some of my friends commented to me this week how they remember him sitting on his front porch watching them play at the park across the road, and more than a handful of friends remarked how they remember many kind interactions with Poppop growing up. He wasn’t just our Poppop. He was theirs, too.

In the same book that I noted earlier, Mr. Alcorn also illustrates what it was like to personally watch the last few moments of his friend’s life here on earth. I share his description here because I found it also perfectly illustrates what I witnessed the last week of Poppop’s life.  “One moment he was laboriously breathing the stale air of earth, the next he was effortlessly inhaling the fresh air of heaven…[Poppop] didn’t pass from life to death. In fact, it is the opposite. He has passed from death to life.” And what a life waiting for him in heaven…a grandson, a great grandson, a mother, a father, two sisters, a brother, and many others. On his deathbed D.L. Moody said, “Soon you will read in the newspaper that I am dead. Don’t believe it for a moment. I will be more alive than ever before.” I believe that. I believe that the Poppop I saw lying in that bed last week, all weak and frail, was not a picture of his life coming to an end, but rather him preparing to go from death into true eternal life with his Savior.

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And just because I don't want to forget about this precious moment, here's an interaction that I had with Mimi and Poppop by his bedside a few days before his death:

Me: Mimi, you look so pretty today!

Mimi: Me?! Oh! (to Poppop) Do you think I look pretty?

Poppop: No, beautiful.

Mimi: I knew you'd say that. That's why I asked you.

If that's not 65 years of pure love on display, I don't know what is.