When The Sand Runs Out

He picked pecans and chased squirrels. We liked sitting on the back porch cracking pecans and throwing them at the squirrels with Granddad. There is not a person in my family who knew Granddad, who doesn't have a memory of cracking pecans and picking on squirrels with him.

The Chorus:

"I'm gonna stop lookin' back
and start movin' on
And learn how to face my fears
Love with all of my heart,
make my mark
I wanna leave something here
Go out on a ledge,
with out any net
That's what I'm gonna be about
Yeah I wanna be runnin
'When the sand runs out"

I heard this song on the way home from the funeral yesterday. I had heard it before but yesterday it became a lesson, not just a song. The rest of the song talks about not just spinning your wheels, but living life with a purpose. A few good lines:

"And I stood there thinking
as I said goodbye
Today is the first day
of the rest of my life"

AND

"And when they carve my stone
they'll write these words
'Here lies a man who lived
life for all that its worth'"

With Granddad on the mind this song obviously hit me hard. Dad talked about Granddad at the funeral and the one thing I remember Dad saying was Granddad "lived life like he was living!" I've always heard you should live like you were dying and live it up but I like the idea of living like you were living. I don't think it means to take forever to do everything but I do think it means live with a purpose and live as an example of freedom and hope. Granddad instilled this life in my father and my father and mother instilled it in me and my brother and sister.
I am so very grateful for my family and for the history of faith that we have. I praise God for the life my Granddad led and for all the many people he touched. Granddad struggled with his health and his death was not unexpected, but nonetheless, the lump is hard to swallow.
He visited people everyday, someone, anyone. He helped and served others in every area of his life. Granddad was running.

He's in Heaven now. If there are squirrels in heaven they are running for their lives because Granddad is there and he's sitting on the porch of his mansion, which probably is plain and simple with a huge pecan tree out back. He's crackin' pecans, and when one of those divine squirrels scurries by, Granddad is there to peg him with a pecan.

I'll see him again. It's just a matter of time!

Be Blessed!!!