I’m taking a break from business blog posts today and writing about something that’s personal. I don’t write near enough personal blog posts. But today, I am, and it’s through tears that I write.
I talked with a teary eyed Mim today. They’re having to make some more unexpected updates to their home. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve lived in a home for 40 years. But the last few years have been so hard on them. Having to fix up their upstairs, to last month their bathroom (oh and by the way my grandpa fell twice during that renovation setting them back even more) to today, having to add pillars and beams to support their sagging second story floor. It’s been emotionally exhausting for my grandma. She’s having to care for the home and my grandpa at the same time and today, she called me discouraged about her house, which always seems to need work more and more. She said, “Mel, does my house look bad? I just do what I can with what I have. I don’t have a home like everyone else does.” And I said, “No, Mim, they don’t have a house like you do.”
Oh, if those walls could talk.
They would tell about a couple that devoted their lives to serving others.
They would speak about countless prayer meetings, where our family wept and cried out together for the prodigals to come home.
You would hear the echos of children’s laughter as we ran up and down the stairs.
They’d sing Christmas carols and recite Luke chapter 2 by heart.
They’d resonate with the cries of heartbreak and would sing of healing, restoration and reconciliation.
They’d tell the stories of visiting missionaries, pastors and evangelists.
They’d echo my grandpa’s whistle and his constant “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” as he spends most of the day in prayer.
They’d tell you about all the shared bowls of ice cream, back scratches and bunny stories.
They’d speak of 67 years and counting of a faithful and loving marriage.
They’d tell about four generations and growing of Christ-followers.
I think the stories would be endless. But they’d all center around one thing: Jesus.
It’s because of Jesus that the walls speak the way they do. It’s because of Jesus there are four generations of Christ-followers, it’s because of Jesus the prodigals come home, it’s because of Jesus that every ounce of healing occurred. It’s because of Jesus that a legacy lives on.
Thank you Mim and Papa for loving Jesus the way that you do.
