Three cardboard boxes…

As many of you know, I lost my granddad (Papa) this past October. It has been over eight months since his death. With past deaths in my family, I’ve had the tendency to do the best that I can to not think about that person anymore. I’ve found that sometimes it’s hard to remember someone who you really care about that has passed away.

This past weekend, I had to make a quick trip to Dallas to pick up a few things from my family. One of those things I had to get from my granddad’s old house. It was the first time that I had been in that house since the last time I saw Papa. The house just sold so we are trying to get everything moved out of it. After moving a few things out, I asked my parents if I could go inside and have just a few minutes to myself. That night as I sat inside, I allowed myself for the first time to stop and remember all of the things that happened in that house. As I went into each room, there were certain memories that came to mind about Papa and in the coolest way, each of those memories reminded me of what type of man Pops was (playful, serving, loving, great leader, humble, etc…).

After having some time to myself, my mother came in and took me to Papa’s closet where she showed me three cardboard boxes. What was in those cardboard boxes revealed to me something about my granddad that I will never forget (in fact, I’m keeping what was in those boxes!). Each box was packed with little notebooks that were filled with pages and pages of notes that Pops had taken while studying the Bible. Each notebook was dedicated to a specific book or topic of study.

I always new that my granddad loved God’s Word, but not until this weekend did I ever know to what extent. Discovering those boxes was like uncovering a hidden treasure that nobody ever knew about. It was my grandfather’s treasure. Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I have no doubt at all what Pops treasured. He treasured God and His Words. And because he treasured God and His Words, I know exactly where his heart was and is today!

Even though my Pops passed away over 8 months ago, the greatest lesson he ever taught me, he taught me this weekend. The truest test of a man’s heart is to look at what he treasures most. If my Pops, was here today he would say, “There is nothing in the world worthy of being treasured more than that which is not of this world, God and His Word.”

~ by Austin W. on June 18, 2008.