Sie haben Manna?

I drove up to Bellingham Friday night after work and spent most of the day Saturday with my grandma and grandpa.

It was a good day, an emotionally draining day, but good.

My grandpa and I had a short conversation that I'll never forget.

He told us he didn't know where he was or where he was going.
My aunt told him he was going to heaven.

He looked over at me and asked me "will you be there?"
I told him I would be, one day.
He then asked me "have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?"
I told him yes I did, then I asked if he did.
He said "yes I have trusted him for many many years"

I started to talk to him a little about what we'll do in heaven.  I suggested that maybe we would dance and sing.  I asked him to save me a dance.

He looked at me and asked "are we speaking English?"

It is those moments of absurdity intermixed with clarity that make tough moments a little lighter.  One moment we were talking about seeing each other in heaven and the next my grandpa and I were speaking to each other in German.

Since we both have a limited vocabulary in German, the conversation quickly turned to me asking in German where the toilet was, to which he responded in English that he didn't think we would need to worry about it in heaven.   Then I was telling him I'd like some fries, again in German, to which he responded in English "we haven't got any, only manna".  I asked if my manna could be fried and he simply smiled.

The sweet moment ended about as quickly as it began.  He spoke to a few other people in the room and on the phone and then his moments for the day were done.  He began to get very confused and upset, and with the help of a few nurses and an injection of something powerful, he slipped back into a quiet calm.

As I said good bye to him a few moments later I told him I loved him and kissed him on the forehead.

I don't expect that I'll see him again on this earth, but I am confident he'll save me some manna in heaven.









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