Legacy

Part of our vacation last week included a trip to Batavia, IL to visit my Grandma Stolpe. It really was a gift to see her, and she seemed quite excited about our visit. From the picture above, you can see that Hannah and Isaac have reached Grandma’s height. This is kind of crazy for me, because my two brothers and four cousins always used Grandma as our measuring stick for our growth. We knew we were really growing up when we passed Grandma. I was the second grandchild to pass Grandma and now I’m the tallest of the seven.

Grandma (and Grandpa, who passed away last February) has also been our measuring stick for spiritual growth. Both she and my grandfather have lived their lives fully devoted to Christ. I’ve seen this in action countless times through meal time prayers, through regular Bible reading, through consistent church involvement, through dedicated service to those who are less fortunate, through opening up their home to a broken family, through consistently and fervently praying for their children, grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren, etc.

I am so grateful to have grandparents like these.

As we left the nursing home that afternoon, I left at peace. I don’t know if I’ll see Grandma again although I can hope. Her health hasn’t been the greatest, and I know she’s not getting any younger. Despite this unknown, my peace comes from knowing that Grandma is in tune with Christ and is living that out everyday. This is the type of legacy that I want to leave for my kids, grandkids (some day), and future generations.

Until the next post…