A Sad "See You Later"

Earlier this month, we had to say goodbye to our grand daughter, Montana, as well as Kate, our daughter, and Aaron, our son-in-law. We were there for Montana's birth, and for the first 10 months of her life, we have been very close. Aaron graduated from seminary last November and has been waiting for his first position, which he now has taken in Lynden, Washington. For much of that time, they have been living with us. I was there the night that Montana crawled for the first time. It has been an awesome experience.

A sad part of our culture is the away movement of our families. I grew up with both sets of grandparents living in the same small town, and I got to see them regularly. I have fond memories of fishing with my grandfather, and getting jelly beans every time we saw him. There is something that grandparents add to a child's life - a peace and acceptance of the child, and the ability to love in a less disciplinary manner. We loved having Kate, Aaron and Montana living with us.

The Bible says that children are a gift from God. If children are a gift, then grandchildren are like all of the presents under the tree! Dee and I already miss seeing Montana's daily discoveries in life. But, she is in good hands - Kate and Aaron are wonderful parents. We did send Montana a camera for her computer, and got to see her online last night for the first time. I'm sure we'll also be burning some miles flying into Seattle on a regular basis.

Because Kate had a special birthday in August, I can no longer say I have three children in their 20's. Life is marching on. I am enjoying our children as they have become adults. I am proud of all three of them. Our youngest child, Emily, just opened her own business in Laramie, WY. Her husband, Heath, is a school teacher. Our middle child, Mason, is completing his Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering at South Dakota Tech in Rapid City, SD.

Attorney John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute is the source of one of my favorite quotes. He said, "Our children are living messages sent to a time that we will never see." I may never meet Montana's children. Nonetheless, she carries a part of Dee and me. Through the life we shared with Kate, and the life she shares with Montana, it is our prayer that our "grand-message" will live a full life, and impact the world around her.

Children, and grandchildren, are such an important part of our lives. In addition to our own, I guess you could say that Dee and I have another 37,000 children in 16 countries around the world. We are truly blessed!

But right now, we're really missing Montana. Oh yeah, you too, Kate and Aaron!