A Tribute to Grandpa Reed

Last Saturday, November 27th Josh's Grandpa (Harold) Reed passed away after a brief battle with brain cancer.  The visitation was Tuesday and the funeral was Wednesday.  It had been a while since I had attended both a visitation and a funeral, and even longer since I had done so as a family member.  The week of a loved one's passing is completely exhausting, mentally and physically.

During the funeral there were a few themes the Pastor discussed that made a lot of sense to me.

• Hope - In Michigan we say things like "I hope it doesn't snow too much tonight." And in that sense there is some level of doubt, will it snow? In the Bible hope is a sure thing. "The hope for eternal life" has no doubt associated with it. You will have eternal life but not because you hoped and got the preferred outcome of a 50/50 chance. Grandpa is living his eternal life now.

• Memories and the future - We will get together as a family over the years to come and we will remember Grandpa and tell stories and share memories. What Grandpa does not want us to do is stop living for the future because we're so focused on the past. We must continue to live for the future.

• Get out - Grandpa used the phrase "Get out" when he had a couple of visitors. Pastor said he knows Harold too well, he wasn't telling anybody to get out but rather he wanted "out" of this life, the pain, the suffering. He was expressing that he wanted to "get out" not asking anybody to leave. 

For those who have experience with brain cancer you may know that the tumors cause pressure on other parts of the brain that cause them to function improperly. This can cause many symptoms and it is not easy to watch a loved one suffer from this disease.  We are thankful that Grandpa's battle was brief and we will remember the great times we had together and hope for the day we will be reunited.

Here is a picture from our wedding last August. 3 generations of Reeds: Dad, Grandpa, and 2 grandsons.