Prayer Warrior

I know I've been away from blogging for a little while now.  And, I have plenty of posts I'd like to share soon.  But it is fitting that the post following mention of my brother is about my husband's grandpa.  Thank you to everyone who commented or shared with me about my 3/29 post.  We are so blessed to have such amazing, fun and crazy families.

And before I let too much time go by, I would like to mention how much the passing of my husband's grandpa last month impacted our lives.  He (and his wife) lived a simple and yet profound life.  A native of North Carolinian, WWII Veteran, pastor, teacher, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, I feel blessed to have known him.

July 1943

One thing often mentioned at the funeral was that Grandpa M. was a prayer warrior.  And with his death, there's a great sense of the torch being passed.  God calls us to pray in all circumstances, and I remember God putting a desire in my heart during a revival to truly learn how to pray and the importance of prayer.  But witnessing someone actually live a life of "praying without ceasing" is profound and has strengthened / re-kindled my desire to make prayer much more of a priority in my life.

Grandpa praying at our wedding.

At the funeral, memories from each of the 26 grandchildren were read.  Every memory was touching as it revealed what a strong relationship he had with his family.  Below is what my husband wrote:

The first time I took the risk of being sarcastic with Grandpa, was at a family 4th of July cookout.  I stood next to him, looking out over all the activity, and said with a straight face: "You know this is all your fault, right?"  He paused, smiled with his eyes and told me: "Oh yes, son, I know.  I'm the Big Chief."       

And he couldn't have described himself better.  Because, it was the Big Chief who was always the most respected of the tribe.  It was the Big Chief who talked with The Spirit, and taught others to do the same.  It was The Big Chief who gave the rest of the tribe their purpose, passion, and identity.  Grandpa impacted us all in many ways, but one thing is for sure:  Whether you knew him as Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Brother, Soldier, Teacher, Pastor, or Friend.... to all of us, he truly was the Big Chief.

A picture taken before the funeral of Grandma M. with the grandchildren.

I'm very thankful for the heritage we've been given.