A little boy awakens startled in his bed late at night. Instinctively, and perhaps mysteriously, he senses something in his world just isn’t right. As he stirs and calls out for his mom, the neighbor from across the street comes around the corner from the next room. She has been watching television and is graciously babysitting for as long this night as necessary. Sitting down at the end of the bed, she reassures the young child that everything is going to be alright. But that is only partially the truth. The child’s instincts have told him so, even if he cannot comprehend that truth of life as of yet. His grandfather is suddenly very ill, and even as he falls back asleep, his life will never be quite the same.
For the first few years of life, the boy and his grandpa have been inseparable. The child is the youngest of the grandchildren in this family, and follows his grandpa everywhere. His gaze is forever locked upon this man’s every move, and when they make eye contact there is inevitably a smile and wink to be shared. On this night, the innocent little boy is about to learn one of the harshest lessons of the universe. Physical life is finite. But love, and the connection it brings, is eternal. This is one of the miraculous truths of God’s creation. It is why the boy will occasionally speak quietly to his grandpa in bed late at night, updating him on the simplistic life of a child or asking an inquisitive question. It is why he will study his grandpa’s life through the eyes of others as he grows older and becomes familiar with the proper questions to ask. It is why he will bring his own little boy in a carrier out to a grave on a warm summer day just to make an introduction. And it is why he seeks so hard to model himself as a grandfather after this man who was with him for such a short time. In truth, he is with him still. The love never ends. The counsel never ends. The memories often flow. After all, there are those who teach us what to do with the love that God plants in our hearts. Some of us are even lucky enough to have learned from those who share that love boldly, freely, and ever so often. Amen.
-Rev Jeffrey G Mikyska
Experience the Trinity 