100 Years
100 Years
What would you do if you were guaranteed 100 years of
life? Imagine just knowing from day one that you had exactly 100 years to live
your life here on this earth. Would you change anything?
On Monday, September 2, 2019, my 100-year-old great-grandfather
died at 11:11a.m. I had the amazing
honor to be in this life with him for 20 of those years. He lived a life that I
do not even have the words to describe, but I will do my best to try; so,
grandpa, this one’s for you.
In the short time that I knew him, I learned that he
was the most kind, giving, relational man. He loved his wife, family, and Jesus
with everything he had. He had some of the most admirable qualities that I have
ever seen; and I know that I didn’t even get the opportunity to see half of
them.
I may have been pretty young when I knew him, but I
was still able to see how much he truly loved his wife. He truly proved how much
he admired her and gave her all the affection he was capable of. I always loved
watching them together and getting the opportunity to spend the day with them. When
they would babysit my siblings, our days were sure to be filled with
marble games, hide the thimble, and all the Jesus Mints we could ever want.
While all of these wonderful things are more than true,
and I could probably go on forever, I know that he would not want me to speak
about his life like it was all about him. See Grandpa loved the Lord with
everything he had. He accepted Jesus as his savior and chose to follow him with
his whole heart in 1931; and he really, truly gave Jesus his all.
During one of Grandpa’s last days, his children
surrounding his bedside, there was one phrase that he quietly said to them that
I don’t think I will ever forget; “Just have fun.” You tell me, how can a dying
man tell his family something like that? He said it because he knew in that
moment, he had nothing to fear.
During my life, I’ve always told myself that I have to
live fearlessly. It’s a challenge I have made for myself, something I always strive
for. This is not to say that I live my life in an irrational way without
concern for the consequences of certain decisions. It also does not mean that I’m
not afraid of anything, because that is so very far from the truth.
Grandpa knew that he could live without fear of what
was to come, because he had a God on his side who had a plan greater than he
could ever know. He knew how to live at peace with God’s plan and I admire that
so much.
God gave Grandpa 100 years on this earth. We may not
know exactly why he got every day that he did, but Grandpa chose to take every
day that he was given and give it back to God.
We are not guaranteed 100 years. We have absolutely no
idea when our last day will be; we do not get to choose the amount of time we
spend in this world. We do, however, get to decide what we do with our time
here. God gifted us with the ability to choose how we live and with whom we live for. I
know that my Grandpa lived for the Lord and he showed that without fear. He strived
to tell as many people as he could about the great love of God.
Grandpa left this earth telling his many family
members to “just have fun”, because he knew that he was going to be with one
who loved him with an indescribable love. He will be living in eternity with Jesus
Christ.
So, for us here still left on this earth for now, his
6 children, 18 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren, and everyone else in
between, we have a choice to make. How are we going to spend the time we have
on this earth? Are we going to live for ourselves, giving in to our human desires
or are we going to accept the gift of Jesus Christ?
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