The Trip

I made a trip today. A trip to my parents' home. I wasn't sure what would happen when I got there (or before, for that matter).

As I drove the miles I've driven many times in the 21 years since I've lived away from home, I had much time to reflect.

I saw billowing, puffy clouds float across a clear blue sky. I saw (really) two men pushing a shopping buggy on which they had perched, precariously, a sofa. I had a chuckle and double checked my rear view to make sure I had seen what I thought I saw. I had.

Mostly I thought of numbers. Sixty-seven, as in years. In that time, there has been a World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. There have been approximately 12 U.S. Presidents. America has put a man on the moon, the Beatles invaded, Elvis Presley died, and John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The Berlin Wall came down, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, and 9/11 changed the world.

Through it all, in a small town in Arkansas, one couple has been married. They saw all those things. They welcomed 2 sons, 4 grandchildren, and 3 great granddaughters. They celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and retirements. They laughed, they fought, they loved, and they cried.

Today, my grandfather lies in a hospital bed in his home literally waiting for God to call him home. My grandmother, his wife of those 67 years, said goodbye to him and was taken to a hospital to undergo major heart surgery. They won't see each other again on this earth.

A heart wrenching goodbye on this earth will eventually be a beautiful reunion in Heaven.

I didn't know as I drove if I would see either of them again. I still haven't seen my grandmother as she is in another town but Granddaddy is still holding on.

As I held his hand, I told him about the lake I had driven by on the way. Lake Chicot is a place we spent many summers. I told Granddaddy once when I was 4 or 5 that I was going to catch “2 crappie and a casting rod”. He laughed about that for years.

“The sky was blue. The lake was shimmering. It was about 65 degrees, perfect weather for fishing,” I said. He squeezed my hand a bit and raised his eyebrows.

Maybe he heard me, maybe he didn't. I was just thankful to have gotten the chance to tell him.

I don't know what the future holds for them. But I know that no matter what is in it, it is God's best—His Plan A.

And I know too, even as good as their 67 years together on this earth were, their future years together will be even better.