When looking back…

My Grandfather is dying.  He’s lived and long, full life…and right now our entire Family is walking the journey to the end with Him. Although, I’m pretty sure it’s actually just the beginning, but that’s another blog post entirely. My Aunt and Uncle have been keeping us posted. Letting the whole Family know how He is doing. Daily updates. It’s not easy to see someone you love start to slip away…

My Nephew did some research and found Grandpa on Wikipedia. Pretty impressive to say the least. And it’s stuff that most of us never knew. I had no clue that this man I had grown up sharing Thanksgiving dinners with was a genius. Feel free to see it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Shell

After the moment of being kind of awestruck by his accomplishments, it hit me. Not one single person will remember him for those things…not for a bunch of computer discoveries and mumbo-jumbo. You know what we will remember him for? His heart. His huge, kind, thoughtful…loving heart. I will always remember the way he intentionally hugged every single Grandkid and whispered in our ear, “Jesus loves you, and so do it!”. He did that EVERY SINGLE time I saw him. No lie. I will remember his amazing cooking. His supernatural patience as he cared for and loved my Grandma for years while she was in a wheelchair and unable to walk. He took care of her every need. And did it with so much gentleness and smile on his face. I will remember the way He cared for His Children, and Grandchildren. I will remember His priorities. Jesus. Family. And Others. Period. No ifs ands or buts…if you knew Him, if you met him even once…you would know those were the things he cared about.

Our legacy has little to do with accomplishments. Our Kids will not praise our memory with how much money we made, or how famous we became. They will remember how we lived. How we treated others. How we loved those less fortunate. How we approached life, and those around us.

Go out today and seek to love and to serve. Not to get or to attain. Some things are fading…others are eternal.

S