It has been almost a week since we gathered together to celebrate a man who has had such an impact on our entire family.

My grandpa passed away suddenly a little over a week ago. It was a shock to all of us and while the weekend was filled with tears and the reality of our loss, it was also filled with precious time with family.

We found places to sit in all corners of my grandma’s home. Voices filled the air, sharing stories about grandpa and also about their own lives. The young kids found joy in playing with one another and giggled in the depths of the “hidey hole” under the stairs.

I met the husband of one cousin for the first time and heard stories of another who is teaching in Columbia.

We ate good food and celebrated family. It wasn’t the reason we had hoped to gather together, but we didn’t waste an opportunity to soak it all in.

We didn’t take a single picture. I had good intention to do so, but the reality was we just spent those hours doing life together. We don’t have a physical picture to remember the time but instead we created memories that will last a lifetime.

They are a gift.

I haven’t always appreciated taking the time to gather in that way. When we lose someone we love it is easy to feel guilty about all the opportunities missed. My husband had said just a month ago or so that we should take a trip up to visit my grandparents….he said we never know how much time we have left. We had no idea how true that statement would be.

We never made time for the trip and I wish we would have. But instead of focusing on those regrets that we can’t change now, we made the most of the time that we had together in that moment.

It is a honor to be a part of this family, this legacy of love and faith.

God brought us together and I was so aware of the strong family of faith that we have as a result. It is my prayer that I might carry on that legacy in my own family. It is why seeking after Him with my whole heart is so important.

My mom said it herself that my grandpa was a man that sought after God every day. Even in his death he wanted the focus of his funeral to be on God and not what he did…but all that God did.

Seeking God in our daily lives can have a lasting impact on our family. And the blessings that come from that faith are such a gift.