My wife’s grandfather passed away last Thursday – November 5th, 2009. I only had the pleasure of spending time with him once, at our wedding last year. We spent the first half of this week down in Kansas for the funeral – a journey that was full of stories in itself. We flew out of Rochester at 7am EST (which meant getting up around 2am to drive down), stopped over at O’Hare in Chicago, and landed in Kansas City around 11:30am CST. We then drove a couple hours west of KC to Abilene, Kansas – grandpa’s hometown.

Throughout our time there, we enjoyed much time spent with family – mourning the loss of grandpa, but celebrating his life. There was a lot to celebrate. If you have a spare minute, please have a gander at his obituary. Grandpa was a missionary to the Philippines, a radio personality, a WW2 vet, a Moody grad, and perhaps most of all – a husband, father, and grandfather. He loved Jesus Christ and dedicated his life to serving him. He left a legacy of faithfulness that touches even me – his grandson-in-law.

Wednesday, we made the trek home.

Today is Friday, I’m thinking about the challenge of following (and some day leaving) a great legacy. Although I didn’t know Grandpa, I’ve spent much of this week mindful of the life he lived, and of the family he raised (which includes my mother-in-law, of whom I am rather fond). Certainly, I’ve inherited a different world than he did – but we serve the same King, and are called to the same faithfulness to that King.

Feel free to check out Grandpa’s radio shows here, and other info here.