Around 6:32 PM tonight, May 8, 2008, my grandpa – Charles Weldon Chandler of Baytown (and recently Pasadena), TX – went home to be with the Lord. He departed from his body without pain, suffering or struggle. He was surrounded by his family. I was able to pray for him and speak some scripture to him and those gathered while holding his right hand as he took his dying breath. It was quite an honor, and also quite surreal – like being in a movie.
So I don’t usually get in peoples’ faces about this, but I am going to be perfectly clear here: the only reason that we’re able to survive this loss is because we know grandpa’s spiritual state. When I say “the Lord” I explicitly mean Jesus Christ, our only mediator to God the Father. Grandpa and my mother both put their faith in Jesus and were baptized in the early sixties – my grandpa already a grown man by then, obviously. I don’t always act like much of a minister, but I’m supposed to. Without Jesus there is no hope. You’ve either put your trust in him, or you haven’t.
One Comment
Chris,
What a beautiful way your Grandpa left this earth; He was surrounded by his family and had Scripture read. A high school friend went through the same situation about 3 weeks ago. She said that after they all took turns saying their good-byes, they tried to hold his arms and he wouldn’t let them and reached as high as he could towards heaven and took his last breath.
For sure there is comfort in knowing that your grandpa knew God and put his faith and trust in Him. As he faithfully passed the baton, we should do the same. The easy thing for us is that both of our wives are believers, but I guess at times that makes me a little lazy.
Glad to have found your blog. I’ll add your link to my site. Talk soon friend,
Brian
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