Gone, but Not Forgotten . . . Yet

Put your finger in a glass of water and pull it out.

The hole that’s left behind is how much you’ll be remembered when you’re gone.” Grandpa said that many times when I was growing up. But even though I was taught not to contradict my elders, I think he was wrong. Grandpa has been gone for more than twenty-five years now, yet I still clearly remember him. I recall when he took me fishing and put up wooden swings and a tree house in his backyard for us kids. I remember watching him watering his flower wall every night, making popcorn, playing cards on the back porch, and doing so many other things. Yes, I totally disagree with him. But wait—maybe I need to rethink this.

My son, Jeremy, was nine years old when Grandpa died. Recently, I asked Jeremy what he remembered about his great-grandfather, and he told me two things. He recalled Grandpa helping him make a wooden boat. He could not figure out how to angle the nails, and Grandpa (who was a carpenter by trade) showed him how to do it.

He also remembered Grandpa giving him a red wooden toolbox—a box Jeremy still has. My daughter Katrina was three when Grandpa died.

I also asked her what she remembered about Grandpa, and understandably, she did not have any clear memories of him. Mostly, she recalled that he always sat in the same chair in his living room. Jessica, my youngest child, was not born until the year after Grandpa died, so she has no memories of him. And as that thought dawned on me, I realized Grandpa might be right after all. I have two grandchildren who have no memory of him either.

To them, he was just an old man (their great-great-grandfather) who lived a long time ago. Although I remember Grandpa very well, I admit there will come a time in the not-too-distant future when there will be no one left on Earth who will remember the man I knew as Grandpa. But wait—there is Someone who will remember him forever.

The Lord says, “I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15, NIV).

And I am so glad He will always remember you and me too.

Kathy Pepper