A week or so ago, my father called me on the way home from work to check in on me. He told me that he had written both Andrew and I a letter and that he had planned to mail them to me. I immediately broke down out of both joy and sadness. I was so thrilled at the thought of reading my father’s words to our son, but so sad that words on paper were the only words they’d get to share on this side of heaven.
Yesterday, I received the letter from my father via email. What a treasure! I could sense the sadness my father felt that he’d miss out on so many earthly things with his first grandson, but it was also seasoned with the hope and assurance that they would see each other again in heaven because of Christ’s work on the cross! Here are a couple of paragraphs that I thought were precious.
Hi Andrew,
I am your grandfather “Ba-Ba”. I guess you wonder how I got that name. Well, you can thank your cousin MacKenzie for the name. She started it and you know it just never changes. Once your fist grand child names you, you have it for life. By the way, I am your mother’s father and your grandmother is “Mi-Mi”. She is with your mother now.
As I sit here and wait for your mother to bring you into this world, I want you to know that the expectation of your arrival has brought a lot of special moments for our family. For me, you are the first male. It was exciting for me because I have been around girls for a long time. Although I love my girls a lot, being the first grandson makes you special to me.
Well, since you are in heaven already, I hope you have found Grandpa Frank (my dad) and ‘PawPaw’ (your grandmother’s dad) and many others. If you haven’t seen them yet, yell real loud and I am sure they will find you. It is comforting for me to know that you are with them and Jesus. What a blessing!
