Saying goodbye.

Right after my first post today, I got a phone call from my family, informing me that my Grandpa Lawrence passed away this morning. Before we left for Hawaii, Zach and I got a couple of opportunities to visit my grandparents and I could tell that my grandpa was much weaker now than in the past year and that I may not have many more chances to see him. I was sort of prepared to get that news on this trip, but at the same time I don't think that you can ever truly be totally ready to hear something like that.

We had a great time just chatting and talking, the last couple of times that we got to visit them before leaving for our trip. Zach had asked him about the days he was in the navy, and what he remembered about it. He talked about old friends, and being in Alaska, and was certain to include that everyone smoked, but he never did-- not once. I enjoyed listening to those stories; I had not ever heard them before. I guess we tend to take stuff like that for granted, until we know that we might not have the chance to hear about it anymore.

My grandpa, for the last month of his life, was mostly confined to a hospital bed stationed in his former living room, with my grandma right at his side-- every moment of everyday. They have taught me so much about what it means to have a strong commitment to marriage. I left their house with Zach that last day being with him, thinking about how awesome it is that they have stuck through it all together, and saddened thinking that my grandma's greatest joy of serving and loving her husband would one day come to an end.

As we left, I took my grandpa's hand and told him, "I love you. I'll see you soon." I knew that physically, that was a lie-- it wasn't likely I could make it to see him again before we left. But spiritually, it was the truth. This life will come and go-- and before I or my grandpa knows it, I will be joining him in heaven. And I cannot wait for that day to come. Until then, I have much more to learn in this life.

When I am drifting off to sleep tonight, I will be praying that my grandma will be ministered to with the peace and comfort that only God can bring and that she will remember the hope that she has.

-H