A Life Well Lived...A Beautiful Legacy

This week, I had to say "good-bye" to a dear man. Mind you, not a final "good-bye," for I know he put his trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ, so I will be seeing him again someday. Smeltzer Charles Rose went home to be with the Lord on Monday, April 18th, 2011...just a few hours before his 92nd birthday. To me, he was Grandpa Rose, regardless of the fact that we were not blood-related. The Bowersox family was gracious enough to "share"him with me...something I will be forever grateful for. Some of the best memories from my life happened on Grandma and Grandpa Rose's farm in Galipolis, Ohio. Feeding the cows; gathering eggs from the chicken coop; going frog hunting, knee-deep in the pond; ridin' the tractor while it spread manure (who know getting hit by a random piece of dried manure could be fun?); going down to the creek to catch crawdads and skip rocks; working the meat from a freshly butchered cow; playing Carrom out in the screened in porch; getting our first try at driving - in my mind, I can still hear the crunch of the tires on the gravel; learning a lesson in patience, which involved Beth, Brian and I deciding we could clear our own path to the creek....ended up getting into a bunch of nettles. Wish there was a video of us trying to run back to the house while scratching and digging our arms and legs, then being hosed off and sent to the basement with Comet and scouring pads to get the boogers off our skin. I could go on and on. But I do have to mention one last memory. The first time I ever went to the farm, we stopped at a McDonalds. I had just known Grandma and Grandpa Rose for a few minutes...but leave it to me to make an impression. Can't really say why I was doing this, but I decided to twist the ketchup packets in half like little bows. As I lifted one up to pretend it was a hair bow, the thing exploded. I was quite embarrassed and didn't know to expect a scolding or not. How relieved I was when there was laughter instead!

I got the privilege of going to hospice Sunday evening and getting to tell Grandpa, "thank you" and "I love you." I count that as a gift to have been welcomed to come and give honor to such a gentle man. Since then, I have been pondering how very important our legacy is. What memories and thoughts will my loved ones have of me? While it is strange to think about, it is very much a reminder about what is important in life and what's not.