Let not your hearts be troubled...

The moment I heard her voice, I knew.

He was gone.

Tears poured forth and dissolved into trembling sobs.

My Granddaddy, my wonderful Granddaddy, was gone. Memories stabbed at my heart: the precious hours we spent compiling his life story, sitting beside him at Christmastime to hear his dry commentary on the gifts, and watching him bail hay from our kitchen window in sweltering July summers.

Then there, in my heart, was the rich sound of his laughter and his booming “Hey!” each time someone walked in the room.

Oh, how I loved that man.

He died back in May, but my heart still aches with the loss.

Losing the people we love is never easy, yet there is hope on the horizon.

God is there, whether you believe in Him or not, think He is relevant or not, or think He cares or not. He is there, and He does offer comfort.

My Granddaddy had been confined to his bed for the last year of his life, and he was miserable.

Working on our farm was his passion, his love, his dream. His immobility and helplessness were a nightmare for him. As hard as it was to say goodbye, how could I deny him his longing to walk on golden streets? He was ready to go home.

I know my loss, as deeply as it cut me, does not compare with the pain of many. I have never lost a parent, a child, a spouse or a best friend.

I also know that I will see him again.

In his mid-twenties, long before I was anything more than a figment of a faraway dream, my Granddaddy decided to follow Christ. I was not quite six years old when I answered the call of God upon my own heart.

Following God isn’t easy—at all. It is a day-by-day struggle, a constant fight to follow Him. But, oh, how beautiful a life it can be.

Perfection is not required. Neither is a holier-than-thou attitude. All you need is a willing heart that longs for something more.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” -John 14:1-4

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