I was asked to compose a poem to be read at Grampa's funeral service. The hardest two pages I've ever read in my life. But I've never been more honored and humbled in my life. What a blessing to give tribute, as one of the speakers noted, to a mountain of a man.
~~~~~~~~~
Reverend Andrew Jackson Whitney.
Grampa. A great man indeed.
Great only because he knew his greatest need
Was to bow the knee, make the LORD King
Not just in some areas—but over everything.
So how do you sum up the qualities of a man
Who lived a full and blessed life through following His Plan?
The blessing is that there’s no secret side to reveal
No matter how you knew him, Grampa was always real.
The Fruits of the Spirit were ever apparent
Grampa died to self and became transparent
So that the love of Jesus could shine and work through
His earthly body for there was God’s work to do!
A servant’s heart; a man of strong conviction,
He was a breath of fresh air
In a world of contradiction.
His undying love for Gramma was so beautiful to behold
At times he would say that he didn’t feel whole
But Grampa kept his eyes looking to Heaven above
Drawing strength from Jesus and His perfect Love.
Grampa loved to play jokes; was quite the funny guy
There was often a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Retelling stories, often in jest
Poking fun and making sure the point wouldn’t rest.
Grampa’s large, powerful hands would greet you with a squeeze
And happily cradle a child on his knees.
With those hands he would lovingly build a fire
Keeping his granddaughter warm when she tired.
Writing letters, emails, and birthday cards
With reminders of keeping our lamps trimmed and hearts on guard.
Grampa established a family altar of prayer
6:30 Wednesday mornings we all would meet there.
He was so often our steady when life felt unstable
A stalwart reminder that God is always able.
So though we sit and shed tears in this earthly place
In our sorrow there’s a greater joy
For Grampa left us with a great heritage of faith.
So, Grampa, we follow your lead--We know the LORD is soon returning
And, praise Jesus, we’ll keep our lamps burning!
~Mandy Yount
January 22, 2011
4 comments:
Mandy...
I have tears in my eyes as I am reading this. Thought so much about your family over the last week; how much I knew you would be grieving and celebrating at the same time! Not too many "kids" our age have experienced the great heritage that we have been given. We were at Grandma Yount's house this weekend, and I spent some time reminiscing, looking through the endless photos stashed here and there. :) How blessed we are, girl! I found Jeff and Andrea's wedding album, and enjoyed looking at pics of the Whitneys and Grandpa and Grandma Yount...Kaitlynn said, "I wish Grandpa was still here." I wished the same...how they would have loved him! Sorry to ramble so much. Your poem was beautiful and so fitting for such a great man and Grandpa...well done.
Val & Stephanie...thank you.
@ Stephanie--Funny you should mention that b/c Uncle Joe spoke at our church this past weekend. An amazing sermon on "Three Generations". A highlight of his sermon was Papaw's own testimony from boyhood til death. I sat there wishing how much I could have met him and spent time with him! Girl, I am hearing you loud and clear. Praise Jesus for the heritage our children have. Deep and rich and full of Jesus! So very thankful!! Oh, and I asked Uncle Joe for a copy of his sermon. It really was one of the best I've heard--a good dose of conviction mixed in with a good dose of Hope =)
It was so great to meet you and your extended family, although I know we all wish the circumstance had been different!!!
I enjoyed reading through your blog and seeing those cute little kiddos!
Actually, it was my niece that was life-flighted to Geisinger - we are all so thankful the Lord intervened on her behalf!! We acually lived 2 hours north of there - Tunkhannock.
You did a fantastic job of "capturing" Grampa in your poem! Thanks for letting me post it on my blog!
I'll be checking back, too!
How awesome and you put it into words so well ... describing the man we great to love many, many years ago! He reminded me a lot of my dad and how sweet and tender he was in his spirit. Thanks for sharing this and I know everyone was blessed by it!
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