One of the perks of being Grandpa is that I sometimes have an opportunity to fill in at my grandkids’ school events. Last week I attended Thanksgiving lunch with two of my granddaughters, Ariah and Camryn. The cafeteria was jam-packed with moms and dads and grandpas and grandpas. It was electrified commotion as little people proudly showed off their honored guests at the gala event.
Just as one girl, maybe a 2nd grader, entered the lunch room, she stopped in her tracks. She was nearly spellbound by the sight of all the lively activity. As her eyes jetted around the room, she exclaimed, “Awwww! I had no idea it would be this much fun. I would have invited someone!” There was a distinct tone of dismay in her voice. I felt sad for her.
And it made me think of the grand celebration we’ve been invited to attend. It is a celebration of perpetual life…in the presence of the Author of life. Can you imagine!
I doubt that we can. Although we’ve been given a glimpse into what heaven will be like, we do not have the capacity to grasp its true essence. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” ~1 Cor 2.9.
Even so, if we truly believed heaven is everything we imagine it to be, I believe it would be on the tip of our tongue. Whenever we found ourselves in the company of someone who was deeply distressed about the world we live in, one of the first things out of our mouth would be, “Yes, but have you heard about heaven? Would you like to know what we have to look forward to when we leave this earth?” We would delight in the opportunity to tell them about the new heaven and the new earth we will inhabit, and we would do our best to describe a life without pain and heartache. We would bubble over in our excitement about an everlasting paradise of communion with God and his people. Our face would reflect the promise of everlasting life—radiant life—for those who receive the gift of life through our Lord Jesus.
Like the dejected little girl at the Thanksgiving luncheon, we run the risk of showing up alone (is it even possible for a fully devoted follower of Christ to show up empty-handed?). The disconcerting picture in my mind is to be standing somewhere near the entrance…wondering in disbelief, “Why on earth didn’t I invite someone to this astonishing event?”
Or we can bring a party!
Rod & Rose 
Nov 12, 2012 @ 06:29:48
Thursdays and Fridays have become two of my favorite days of the week. Not because they are the end of the week but because we have our one and only grandson on those two days. I get to relive days that were long past as my two sons are now 29 and 34. I had forgotten how truly precious the young mind can be and how open it is to new experiences and how it views life through unclouded eyes.
Augustine is now three years old and his vocabulary is rapidly growing. For some reason he is now saying “Meanwhile back at the ranch….” Which causes me to break out into peals of laughter because this saying must go back nearly 50 years or so taken from some TV western of yester year. How did he learn that?
When he walks into our house on Thursday mornings he comes in with the biggest smile you can imagine. He either plays hide and seek or rushes into our arms. I sometimes pretend like I can’t see him and I say “I can hear you but I can’t see you!” He waves his arms and says “I here Tata! I here!” It makes me think of how many children there are in this world who truly aren’t seen or heard and my heart hurts.
Augustine reminds me of things I need to do like fix my old Ford errand truck. We go outside and he wants to climb in. He tells me “Fix the truck, Tata!” In the mean time we sit and there and pretend we are going to the circus or rodeo. Along the way we encounter bears, tigers, eagles, elephants and other sundry beasts who all want to go with us to the circus or rodeo. They get in the truck with and Augi yells out “Put your seatbelt on!” We sing a song as we go on our merry way. I am totally into this imaginary road trip and I am transported to my own childhood days and how I cherish those days.
Just wanted to share those thouse ramblings with you. Meanwhile, back at the ranch….
Nov 12, 2012 @ 09:07:14
Hey Chris, this is Rod. Beautiful! Made me laugh…and reminesce. Would you be okay with me reposting your comments as a post on our blog? If so, what shall I title it? And if there is some way you would like to revise it for the public, that’s fine. I love it the way it is. You are a gifted writer (do you have a blog?)…and “Tata!” Blessings! Rod
Nov 12, 2012 @ 15:56:45
Thursdays with Augi
The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begets a wise child shall have joy of him. Your father and mother will be glad, and she that bore you will rejoice. My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. (Proverbs 23:24-26)
Thursdays and Fridays have become two of my favorite days of the week. Not because they are the end of the week but because we have our one and only grandson, Augi, on those two days. I get to relive days that have long since passed as my two sons are now 29 and 34. I had forgotten how truly precious the young mind can be and how open it is to new experiences and how it views life through unclouded eyes.
When he walks into our house on Thursday mornings he comes in with the biggest smile you can imagine. He either plays hide and seek or rushes into our arms. I sometimes pretend like I can’t see him and I say “I can hear you but I can’t see you!” He waves his arms and says “I here Tata! I here!” It makes me think of how many children there are in this world that truly aren’t seen or heard and my heart hurts. In my line of work, all too often, I see the effects on neglected children and this makes the moment all the more poignant.
Augi is now three years old and his vocabulary is rapidly growing. For some reason he is now saying “Meanwhile back at the ranch….” which causes me to break out into peals of laughter because this saying must go back nearly 50 years or so taken from some TV western of yester year. How did he learn that? Is he watching old reruns of Bonanza and gleaning the lingo from that great series?
He makes me enjoy the simple things of life. Once, when he was about two, he kept looking at a giant mulberry tree we have in our back yard and said “Climb, climb!” I said “Augi, you’re too little to climb a tree.” He said “No, we climb!” Against my better judgment, I took him in my arms and climbed up several branches before I realized how high up we were and that I was wearing flip flops! I sat there, 10 or 15 feet in the air in the tree branches, worrying about how we were going to get down. Meanwhile, he is looking at the leaves; spotting nests and birds; and enjoying the tree. The saying “Up a tree with no way down” took on a new meaning to me. I carefully made my way back down with Augi safely in my arms and was relieved to touch mother earth with only my flip flops slightly askew…. Next time I will know better and wear tree climbing apparel.
Augi reminds me of things I need to do like fix my old Ford truck. We go outside and he wants to climb in. He tells me “Fix the truck, Tata!” In the mean time we sit and there and pretend we are going to the circus or rodeo. Along the way we encounter bears, tigers, eagles, elephants and other sundry beasts who all want to go with us to the circus or rodeo. They get in the truck with us and Augi yells out “Put your seatbelts on!” We sing a song as we go on our merry way. I am totally into this imaginary road trip and I am transported to my own childhood days. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I can hardly wait for Thursday to come around again. ~ Chris Baca
Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. – Robert Fulghum
Nov 12, 2012 @ 17:50:57
Love it! Do you have a picture we can insert into the post? If so, you can email it to rodandrosesmith@aol.com. Thanks!