Well, I started blogging last week and then disappeared for a few days! What on earth happened?
First, I had a LOAD of homework to do on Saturday… #nursingschoollife. But beyond that, it was a weekend of family time. This is one of those posts where I will get a little more personal. My sweet Grandpa’s health has been declining over the past several months.
His health began to decline more rapidly just a couple of days before my wedding in July (like, literally two days before). He fell in his kitchen and there was every suspicion that his fall was not just a mechanical fall. He had suffered a few mini-strokes and ended up being hospitalized. We got to Facetime him during the wedding. He was so cute, just look at this.
Just days before Christmas we found out that he has cancer. Prior to that, he had emphysema and a couple of stents due to arterial damage. This weekend, his cancer was staged and we learned he is in Stage 4. Now, maybe you suspect that we are crushed, devastated, and that our worlds have all been rocked.
I will be honest, I love my Grandpa. I love his sweet smile, his nicknames for all of his grandkids (especially his girls), I love his jokes, and his encouragement. My Grandpa and I share the same faith though and he has expressed that he is ready to join my Grandma (God bless her sweet soul) in heaven.
For me, death is very bittersweet. It is bitter because we have to learn to move on without someone that we love and their warm hugs. The sweet part is knowing that he will get to see the face of Jesus, the face of his wife of 50+ years, and his suffering will be forever gone.
Over the weekend, I got to sit with Grandpa and listen to him remind me of the very first time he met my Grandma. The story was beyond sweet. He met her at a “21 and under dance” and thought she was SO pretty. Apparently he knew zero dance steps but requested a dance from her regardless and proceeded to step all over her feet. After the dance he took her home and look at her and said, “Marylou, I am going to marry you someday.” Her response was, “you are crazy!!”
My point here is to say that rather than mourn during this time that we still have Grandpa here on earth with us, we get to celebrate, reminisce, share photos, and share a LOT of love with one another. For we know that we can celebrate his life with him now and remind him what a blessing he has been to his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.
Here is a verse in the Bible that I find beautiful and it encourages me during news like I received this weekend.
“We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” Psalm 33: 20-22
Maybe you wonder, “Haley, how can you hope?” But my hope is not that my Grandpa will stay here forever, but rather, I have faith in the Lord and hold onto the hope and confidence that I will see my Grandpa again when I too arrive in heaven to meet Jesus.
Here is one more picture of my Grandpa with my gorgeous sister Samm (with two m’s)! She is no longer a blonde, but I still like this picture!
The Simple Sweet Things 