80 Years

We celebrated my Grandpa Kyle's 80th birthday this past weekend. We had cake and balloons and gifts and lots of people to help him celebrate. In fact, there were 80 people who came to his party! 80 people to celebrate 80 years. And that was during Labor Day weekend when many people were out of town!

My Grandpa doesn't have a Facebook. He doesn't do Instagram or Twitter. But that's just how many people love my Grandpa and who my Grandpa has loved on and had an impact on in just the last few years. Not on Facebook, but face to face and heart to heart. These are people he married and whose loved ones he has helped lay to rest. People he has visited in the hospital and counseled during dark times. People he has uplifted and encouraged and spoken truth to. And those he has helped lead to Christ.

The day after his party, the family got together to have our own small celebration. We ate good food, gave him some gifts, and watched a slideshow of pictures that spanned almost the whole 80 years of his life. But my favorite thing we did was go around the room and share memories of Grandpa and the things we treasure the most about him. For over an hour we sat together and laughed and cried as we shared story after story. Some of the stories I had heard many times and some I heard for the very first time.

I heard about a man who gets up before the sun, reading and studying the Bible under the light of his lamp every morning. About a man who writes love letters to his wife. A man who is brave and adventurous. Someone who is humble and full of integrity, but who can also be ornery and fun. He is an excellent cook, but also knows how to shoot a gun better than anyone I know. A man who never forgets a birthday or anniversary and loves his 3 children, 7 grandchildren, 5 in-laws (or "outlaws" as he lovingly puts it), and 2 great-grandbabies with all he has. Most importantly, I heard about a man who loves Jesus. 

Not surprisingly, my Grandpa had been asked to be a guest preacher at a church in a nearby town the morning of his birthday and he accepted. He "retired" years ago, but still preaches when he is asked, and I would bet has spent more Sundays behind the pulpit than in the pew since then. 

Now, I've heard a lot of good sermons by some amazing preachers, but I don't know if I've ever heard a better sermon on the pure greatness and awesomeness of Jesus Christ my Savior. There was no flashy band leading worship beforehand. It wasn't full of jokes and funny one liners to try to keep the crowd interested. He didn't have fill-in-the blank notes in the bulletin so everyone could follow along with every blank rhyming or starting with the letter "R".  It wasn't a sermon on how we need to be better or do more. 

It was purely a man standing on stage telling a group of people about how great his Jesus was.  How He has changed his life. How He is better than anything this life can offer. And how He is the lover of his soul. I had tears in my eyes as I heard my Grandpa tell us that though we live in scary times, there is nothing and no one who can knock his Jesus off His throne and therefore we have hope. 

I have never been prouder to be the granddaughter of such a man than on his 80th birthday. He has run the race and fought the good fight...and he's not done yet. I pray that I will show to be as faithful on my 80th birthday.

I currently have 412 Facebook friends and I am almost certain that I couldn't get 80 of them to come to my next birthday.  Not because they aren't sweet and thoughtful people (because they really are!). But because I don't think there are 80 people on my friend's list that I have impacted beyond a status update or a Happy Birthday post on their wall once a year. 

The Internet is a wonderful tool, but it can't hug a friend in a time of need. It can't cook and bring a meal to a neighbor who lost a loved one. It can't visit someone in the hospital or play on the playground with a child. It can't hold a hand, serve at a soup kitchen, or do as Jesus did and wash anybody's feet. 

I hope that we all have the opportunity to live 80 years, but I pray we live them well. I pray we live them face to face and heart to heart. I pray we live them loving others and serving others  and giving not only our money, but our time. Because our time here is so short and so valuable.

Thank you Grandpa for the legacy you are living. I pray I can follow your example with the years I'm given. And I pray that when I'm 80 I will get on the floor and play with my great-grandkids too. 

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!