HHBD

 Happy Heavenly Birthday to Grandad today!! ❤

"He wasn't rich and he didn't have a costume, but he was his own kind of superhero... and I miss him!  I didn't expect this to happen, but it's been kind of cool thinking about him as an entire body of work instead of thinking about him as the person that he was over the last several years, which is tough to think about.  I knew that he was probably sad in a lot of ways... He probably lived past when he considered a fruitful life to be, and that can be really sad for him.  It can also be really sad for his loved ones who love him and want him to be happy.  

But when he passes, you miss him so much more because all of that just goes away, and you remember the entire person that he was.  It happens in an instant, and it's overwhelming!  It's made me smile and laugh and cry all together.  I think I can simultaneously be relieved that he's not suffering anymore, and just incredibly sad that I don't have him in my life anymore, especially now that I remember how he raised me and what he taught me..."

~Penn Holderness, "Remembering Dad" podcast

I loved Penn's perspective on that podcast.  I teared up when he talked about how when someone dies, "in an instant" you remember the entire person rather than only their final season of life.  It's true, and I'm so grateful for that.  It's incredibly hard to watch someone you love suffer, and I acknowledge that that season is much longer and harder for some than others.  It all matters, and how you treat people in that final season matters deeply...

The work of caretaking and trying to help someone through an ever-increasing sense of loss while also preserving their dignity can be all consuming when you're in that awful shadow-of-death season.  But I'm sooooo thankful we can remember and celebrate all the better times now too, honoring the full work of his life and valuing the hope of heaven more deeply!!

Thanks to the work of Christ, we have hope that Grandad is alive and well now, young and able, riding horses and eating great food and telling stories and laughing over long visits with the people he loves there!

Happy Birthday, Grandad.  We love and miss you down here, but we'll see you again someday! ❤

May you understand the truth about those who have died,
so that you do not grieve over them without HOPE.