In Loving Memory

(Today I felt the urge to write this letter to my grandpa. He passed away a year ago tomorrow. If this letter would be difficult for you to read because of grief or any other reason, I just wanted to let you know ahead of time. I pray you have a wonderful day and that God may shed his love and life upon you.)

Dear Grandpa,

First of all, this is a huge hug from me to you! I miss you Grandpa. I miss your whistling and your ready question of, "Did you wash your hands?" in response to my query of whether or not I could get on the computer :). You know Grandpa, looking back, one thing I really miss about you that I have never really thought about before is the way you would sit outside and soak in the scenery of Northern Minnesota. You took such good care of your garden, the dock, the yard...and you soaked in the beauty of God's creation while you did it. Thank you Grandpa for reminding me to enjoy the moment and the view in the here and now, and not just blow past the events in life.

Well, Grandpa, I never thought I would be going to college at Harvy, did you? And they weren't kidding--it is what you might call a tough school ;). Might be a just a little harder than what I may have been expecting...just a little...ok, maybe a lot harder than I was expecting, but Grandpa! You would be proud of me! I have found some friends that I can rely on, I'm going to church, and I am learning both in the classroom and on the court, so I suppose I'm doing well.

I never thought it would be this hard to be away from my community and my family. But that has started to become a bit easier. I saw a quote today along the lines of, "Each day missing you gets a little bit easier because it's another day closer to seeing you again"...so I suppose the fact that I know it is 54 days until I get to go home again makes that quote ring true for me. It has been really amazing to see God at work in my life during this time of personal growth and trial. The biggest lesson? He's there. Always has been, always will be. And sometimes that is all I could ask for: that God would simply hold me. And the second lesson: he has put people in my life to be instruments of his love and daily I see him work through those people to make an impact in my life. My devotionals right now have really been driving a theme home lately--Praise Him. Praise him with my thoughts, my words, my actions. Praise him in public, praise him in my room, praise him on the court. And underlying that is this realization: we praise him because we trust him to handle what we are laying at his feet. And trusting him means we don't worry about things we cannot control. Of course now all I have to do is learn to apply that to life and then I would be good to go :). So I will try, and along the way, I will learn and grow and stretch, just like I have been with school and basketball.

So Grandpa, that's me right now; I wonder how life is for you. How glorious and amazing Heaven must be! What a day that will be to stand before our Lord and Savior! So many things that we will learn and see when we get to heaven! I am so thankful that you were a believer in Christ and that you and Grandma raised your children to be believers. You can be very proud of your son--he has been the most supportive and loving father a kid could ask for. I always know that I can go back to my parents no matter how poor of a decision I have made or how badly I mess things up--they have both been raised to keep their arms wide open and loving--just like our Father in Heaven.

Well Grandpa, I have done a wonderful job of avoiding homework yet again tonight, and I know you will never actually read this, but just know I love you and that I miss you and that I so look forward to that day when I run, stagger, crawl, or get carried across that finish line and get to see you again. And Grandpa? I do promise to do one thing: I promise to keep whistling for you.

Love Always, Your Granddaughter,

Miriam