Celebrating Life!

Today is a day of celebration because we are celebrating life: the birth of a new granddaughter who by God’s grace will bring us years of laughter, joy, and wonderful memories. Haven Grace is planned to come into this world at noon and she will be welcomed into two families who will love her and spoil her. Yes, there will be the tears from falling and skinning a knee, or the times when we will worry because she doesn’t feel well, but I know there will be many times we sit back and just watch her as she enjoys growing up. My biggest prayer for our new granddaughter is that she is healthy all of her days, learns about the love of Jesus at an early age, and asks the Lord to be her Savior. We are so blessed to have two beautiful granddaughters – PaPa and MiMi are proud grandparents!

Just as we are ready to celebrate this precious new life coming into our family…we are celebrating the life and legacy of Tami’s grandmother, Velma Lebsack. Last week the family was informed that Tami’s 98-year-old grandmother was not doing well and is not expected to be with us much longer. Tami and I made a trip down to Granbury to see her last week along with the rest of the family. We are going to grieve when she passes away, but not in a bad way. Our grieving will be because we will miss her… but we will also be celebrating her life, as she has left a wonderful heritage and legacy for her family. Grandma Lebsack has lived a full and wonderful life that is worthy of celebrating.

I met Grandma Lebsack when Tami’s dad came to pastor the church that I grew up in. He was an only child, so once he accepted the position as senior pastor of the church it didn’t take long for his retired parents to make their way to South Bend to check out the new home. Her grandparents always sat in the same seats whenever they would visit. They stayed in a small apartment that the church had on the property, so it was easy to run into them. Both Grandpa and Grandma Lebsack were preachers… so I often had the opportunity to listen to her preach and teach. She was an amazing preacher and teacher. She was loving, easy to talk to, a great listener, and an unbelievable baker. Once I got into the family she taught me how to make her famous cinnamon rolls!

After Tami and I got married, when Grandpa and Grandma Lebsack visited us they would take over the kitchen and cook for us. I’ll never forget the time Grandma came to watch our kids when Tami and I took a vacation to celebrate our 20th anniversary. She was a widow by then and in her mid-eighties, but she didn’t hesitate when we asked if she would watch Krystal and Caleb (15 and 10 years old). The kids loved her and the church helped out, but it was a special time when Krystal and Caleb really got to know their great-grandmother. When we returned, Krystal made us promise that she’d never have to ride with Grandma driving a car ever again (another story for another time – ha!).

I could go on and on about Haven Grace and Grandma Lebsack, but I was just reminded of how quickly life comes and goes. Celebrate every aspect of it because you never know what tomorrow holds. And celebrate it by passing down the faith that has been passed down to you. Grandma is a spiritual pillar of our family and that same faith she has was passed down to a son, his daughters, their sons and daughters, and now to the fifth generation of children. What a great legacy!