Oh, Lucas. You said a prayer that warmed my heart tonight. I love to hear your prayers - sometimes they are so specific and thorough and you tell Heavenly Father every little thing that happened in your day. Lately you have been saying more "blanket" prayers where you cover everything in one sentence like, "Please bless me to have a great life growing up" or "Please bless all the food at every meal that I ever eat." This happened to be more of a blanket prayer, but you ended it with something different. "Please help everyone who smokes to stop smoking." After the prayer, I asked where that thought came from. You responded by saying, "Well I was thinking about how Grandpa saved Dan." I loved your memory of a very special moment that happened and the face that you classify your Grandpa as a hero... who saves people.
The day Grandpa passed away, naturally we had a house packed with people. Our neighbor, Dan who had been great friends with Grandpa came out to see what the commotion was. Daddy told him that Gerry, your Grandpa had passed away that morning. Dan of course was sad, but more than sadness, he felt astonishment and clear shock... because that morning at the very time that Papa passed away in his truck, while Dan was sleeping, he had a dream. He dreamed that Grandpa pulled up to his yard in his truck like he sometimes did to chat with him. He rolled down his window and told Dan point blank, "Dan, you need to quit smoking. And I mean it, you do it now." As he shook his finger and nodded his head at him. Dan is not a religious man. He lived in the house alone, retired and did as he pleased. He told me that dream will always be with him. I checked on him from time to time after Papa's passing to see how he was doing. To my surprise, Dan had completely quit smoking after that dream. He found other ways to occupy his time when he was tempted to smoke. He taught himself how to play the cello. He would work on new projects and hobbies. He has a better understanding of God and religion. He has not smoked since and I am so proud of Grandpa for making that stop on his way out of this life to help a dear friend. Dan is healthy, happy and feels great that he has been able to quit smoking. Hopefully because of Grandpa, he can have a longer life and help others along the way.
Lucas, thank you for remembering that story and thinking of Grandpa in a new light, as a hero. Life has gotten busier for us. It's hard to stop and remember sweet moments. Thank you for reminding me, for teaching me to have faith and most importantly, thinking about your prayers. It is so important to pray always. I love you so much and can't wait to help you on your mission in this life. You are going to do some great things.
I love you OODLES.
hugs & kisses,
"mommy"
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