my grandpa and I...

DECEMBER 14, 2009

my grandpa and I…

Thinking of my Grandpa Linton today. Both of us had this compelling urge to write. He was quite prolific, and actually wrote a newspaper column for awhile, and was published in a magazine, although no one seems to have a copy of it any more. He wrote quietly and compassionately. He wasn’t afraid to write what he thought. His stories about the mannequins in the historical museum are priceless.

What was his motivation? I don’t know his, but I suspect bloggers have inborn desire to make a mark, make a difference, not to get lost along the way. To write it all down lest it be forgotten. There is an urgency, for me. Sometimes my life is chaotic and I have an intense desire for it not to be chaotic. When I write, my thoughts become orderly; it is soothing to put those thoughts down on paper.

Most of what my grandfather wrote was historical in nature. An attempt, perhaps, to say, “here I am!” when in the Real World he might have felt rather invisible. He at least was writing to his family; who is my audience?  Barely anyone reads this blog, but that is not why I write it.  There are lots of words in me but it is not easy to express things verbally. I think my audience is just me and the Lord. Documentation of my attempt, no matter how feeble, to live for Him, to work in the fields with Him, to continually turn everything over to Him– to be thankful, to be positive. To continually be aware of the scope of His sacrifice, to constantly be reminded of His grace for me… not as a work, but as a testimony of His great LOVE…

So am I like my grandfather? I like to think so, because he was Your servant. He had a hard life, but his writings reflect a quiet love for You, and for his family. I didn’t get to know him well but I could tell he loved me by the twinkle in his eyes…

Love you, Grandpa Linton. Sorry about the time I dropped that bowling ball on your foot.