Saying see you later to my Grandpa

To some of you he was Charles or Charlie or Mr. Neece or dad but to me he was grandpa.  I liked to think that since I was the first grandchild and the only grandson for 20 some years, that he was especially fond of me, and that was more true then you might think because he was especially fond of all of us grand kids and great grand kids and as I grew older I bore witness to that fact as I watched him with you younger grandchildren and great grandchildren.

My mom has been haranguing me a few days now about how long I will speak, I will try to be brief.  I know that grandpa didn’t like church to be long, well he didn’t like it to go past 11:45 the stated time I think in the by-laws.  We never got out at 11:45 we always got out at noon I once asked why he didn’t just plan for noon and he said, “We’re supposed to get out at 11:45.” And I thought why don’t we just vote to change the time but then I think he was fearful the pastor would keep us till 12:15.

One of the greatest gifts that my grandfather gave me, gave his family and anyone that was willing to accept it was himself.  If you knew my grandpa you might think he growled a lot and talked loud, which he did, but if that’s all you thought then you never knew him. 

When I think back through my life one of the most common memories I have is worshiping with my grandfather at church every Sunday.  Then later out to eat with them and then a visit at grandpa and grandma’s house pretty much every Sunday.  That alone I am thankful for but another enjoyable memory was our summer vacations. Almost every family vacation that I can recall grandpa was there with the boat.  Loaded with skis and inner tubes and fishing gear and we got to fish and ski as much as we wanted.  There were bigger boats and fancier ski equipment but none of them had my grandpa driving.  I never realized how hot and tiring it must have been for him until I had kids of my own and he gave me the treat of taking them out in the boat alone.

It was rare that grandpa skied himself, most of the time he just drove and was content to drive around in circles until some of us were so tired we puked, I won’t mention any names but it’s the aunt who lives out of state.  And even though it was vacation he would get up at the crack of dawn to take my mom and sometimes I would tag along and we would go skiing at first light when the lake was as smooth as glass.  There was something spiritual about the boat gliding over the water and the skis cutting through the glass surface of the lake.  And when we were done he was ready and willing to take the next batch out again.  And he would let us kids use his fishing polls as long as they were the closed reels, and clean all those blue gills that we would catch, I never once cleaned a fish I caught.  I remember a certain uncle asking once while they were cleaning the fish, “Why doesn’t he clean them?” and in a typical grandpa growl he asked, “you want to teach him?”  Like I said I never cleaned a fish.

I’ve had the opportunity to ski behind other drivers but they all pale in comparison to grandpa.  First, I have yet to experience anyone who could and would bring the rope right to you so you didn’t have to struggle and swim to it.  And I’ve never experienced anyone who good run the boat just so to get you lined up, help you keep your position and ease you up out of the water.

These are wonderful memories that I cherish but they are more then that.  They speak to my grandpa’s character and tell what kind of a man that he was.  My grandpa was a generous servant.  Now some might be chuckling thinking that grandpa was more of a penny pincher and miser then a generous man.  But the truth is the two are not mutually exclusive.  He was an extremely generous with his time and his money.  He just never wasted it and always sought the best bargain that he could get.  That doesn’t make you stingy it just makes your frugal and smart.

If you had an opportunity to look at some of the pictures online of my grandpa there are two pictures of him with mop in hand in the church basement.  And if your car or A/C or refrigerator ever needed Freon he was the man to see only charging for the Freon, for family at least, and he was meticulous about it always weighing the cylinder before and after never charging you for more then you got.  I remember all the work he did around the church too, fixing the A/C and the furnace, running the sound system, changing light bulbs and putting other odds and ends.  He fixed washers and dryers for us and even put a set of used tires on some rims for me once and helped with putting new a/c hoses on our van once.

He served the church and others with the gifts that he had been given.  Pastor Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-12 ‘It was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up .”  We might be tempted to think that Paul’s list is an all inclusive and complete list but it’s not really for some he gave to be fixers of the A/C and handy men, and boat drivers and all manner of servants.

My grandpa wasn’t an evangelist or pastor or teacher, he never sang in the choir, he never sang at all, but he was always ready and willing to serve the Lord and others with the gifts and talents that the Lord had blessed him with.  And the life he lived out was a picture of servant hood.

I weep and mourn this morning because I loved my grandpa and I miss him.  But I don’t weep as one who has no hope because I know that grandpa had a relationship with Jesus Christ and so I know that today He stands at the side of the risen one Jesus Christ.  I know that because I too have a relationship with Jesus Christ that this separation is only temporary that one day I too will see Jesus face to face and my grandpa again and so I weep for joy for him, and longing for me.  So I won’t say goodbye I’ll say see you soon.