I have not written in so long and really need to start making more of an effort to make time so that precious memories can be recorded for my kids.
My Grandpa died. I hate even writing that. I remember being a small child and laying in bed thinking about the day my Grandpa would die. I remember praying to Jesus that he would return so that I would never have to experience that day. His name was Richard Melvin Thorwall.
I have always been especially close to my grandparents--especially him. I was the first grandchild and the only grandchild for many years. He would always entertain my crazy ideas....like the time I thought he and I could be millionaires if we found rocks on the beach (did I mention that they lived in an amazing house RIGHT on the shores of Lake Michigan?!) and painted those rocks and sold them on the side of the road. We did. We sold many. All to my Grandma, but that's okay! We were well on our way to being millionaires!
I vividly remember conversations that we would have when I was younger and how my Grandpa would tell me that there would come a time where I would have my own family and not want to spend as much time with him. I told him he was a liar. He would smile. I never did stop spending time with them. During the last few years of his life, I was blessed to be able to help care for him. I would grumble about that. Then I would remember when he told me that I wouldn't want to spend as much time with him when I had my own family...... I would still grumble sometimes, but less. I learned a lot about not being selfish through helping my grandparents.
I also remember how important the gospel was/is to my grandparents. Bible reading and prayer happened daily. I remember wanting to eat lunch really quickly so that we could get to the beach and play, but instead they would bring out their Bibles, devotional book, and a really, really thick prayer book. I was pretty sure they prayed for every single person on earth and I would get sooooo very impatient. The people they always prayed for last were their people....their kids and their spouses and their grandchildren. They prayed that they would come to know and love the gospel as much as they did. This was and is their biggest desire. He would speak to me about this desire often--right up until the end.
A few hours before my Grandpa passed from this life, I was able to spend a precious few hours with him. Linnea, Luke, my Grandma, and I were quietly sitting around him and my Grandma looked me in the eye and said, "Pray. I need you to pray."
I obeyed. I prayed for my Grandpa, prayed for my Grandma, prayed that the Lord would comfort us. Most of all, though, I prayed that the ultimate desire of my Grandpa's heart would be fulfilled---the salvation of all of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond. It was one of those prayers that you don't feel like you're really praying--as if the Holy Spirit completely took over and I was just the mouthpiece. I prayed for each of my Grandpa's family one by one, just like he did. I know that they say that he was unconscious and maybe he was, but I am fairly confident that he heard me. I also know that the 2 children I had with me--Luke and Linnea heard me. Quiet tears streaming down their sweet faces...they heard me.
Just 2 hours later, he met his savior face to face.
The next night, Steve and I and the kids were doing our devotions and Luke interrupted us--those quiet tears returning to his cheeks. "I don't think I am saved," he cried. "I have been thinking about it since we were with Great-Grandpa and I cannot get it out of my head. I want to be saved." We prayed and Luke received eternal salvation. Luke Richard is his name. A namesake of that special man, Richard Melvin Thorwall.
How fitting that the Lord chose to save my Grandpa's namesake as the result of my Grandpa's death.
