My dad went to be with the Lord last Saturday.
After what I think was probably his first helicopter ride ever as the doctors rushed to try to save his life, and several days in another hospital, he finally let go. In 38 years, I never heard my dad say that he felt sick. Not once. He was so strong and someone that I will always look up to. My hero.
The next day, after we had called all of our family and my dad’s friends, I left my parent’s house and drove the thirty-five minutes home. I had one more person that I needed to tell. My son Kyle.
Noah is only three. He wouldn’t understand, I figured, but Kyle is seven. He needed to know about what happened and I was very worried about how he would handle the news. He and Noah had visited my dad in the hospital a few days prior. We knew from some friends that it might be a good “in between” step. The boys each drew rainbows, which we taped to the wall of the hospital’s ICU. They kept asking why Paw Paw wasn’t waking up and shushing me every time I’d speak louder than they thought I should. They didn’t know the truth yet, that Paw Paw wasn’t going to wake up.
I drove home in silence for the first time in ages and I thought about what I would say to Kyle. How do you tell a little boy that his grandfather is gone? I wasn’t sure how he would take the news.
After I got home, the boys and I played and wrestled for about half an hour. Then, my wife and I sat on the floor and told Kyle that we needed to talk with him. “I wanted to let you know that Paw Paw went to heaven,” I said and Kyle gave me a look that said that he wasn’t sure how to react.
“How do you know that he’s in heaven?” he asked and my wife Missy and I looked at each other and then explained that we knew that’s where Paw Paw was because Jesus was in his heart.
For a brief moment, Kyle looked like he was going to cry. I saw his lip start to quiver almost as badly as mine. He was almost there. But, then Kyle did something completely unexpected.
He started smiling. He was happy. I think he may have even done a little dance. My heart sank as I realized that maybe he didn’t understand what I was telling him and I was going to have to be more direct. But, Kyle beat me to the punch by asking if that meant that Paw Paw died and I said Yes.
I waited for tears, but they never came. Only more smiles. Kyle was overjoyed to know that my dad was no longer in pain. He was so happy. It’s not the reaction I expected, but it should have been.
In Proverbs, it says to “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” I should have had more faith in my son, knowing that my church, my wife, and I have been talking about heaven all of his life and that when you get to go there, it’s a good thing.
May we all have the faith of a little seven-year-old boy. No more sadness. No more tears. Only joy.
May we all have the courage to believe that there’s something more after this life is over.
May we all smile, laugh, and maybe do a little dance when we lose someone we loved so much.
I was very proud of Kyle. And I know that my father was as well. I hugged Kyle and told him that I loved him. I ruffled his hair and patted him on the back twice. Once for me. Once for Paw Paw.
I’ll miss you, Dad, and will never forget you. I love you, Pal.
And I know that I’ll see you again, because Jesus is in my heart, too.