The legacy still lives on...

Wow! Look at me!! Twice in the same weekend!! Okay, so really, I am just trying to be better at blogging and this is something that I have had on my mind A LOT lately. So, next week, it will be four months since the man I looked up to the most passed away. I was looking through some pictures that my sister sent me of my niece and nephew and thinking, "oh that would be such a cute new background picture for my computer!" However, when I went to change it, I couldn't find it in my heart to change it from Grandpa. I don't know why this is so hard for me! While I was driving back from Jackson, I was talking with Grandma about how to me, it still doesn't seem like he can possibly be gone! I think part of that has to do with the fact that I grew up on the other side of the country and only saw him and my Grandma like once a year when we would come out for the summers, so not seeing him all the time is "usual" for me. However, once I got to college, Grandpa was one of the people who I called and talked to a lot because he was able to help me with my anxiety and homesickness. Plus, I got to see him a lot more often since I was only 3 hours away. Long story short, unless I am at Grandma's house, it still doesn't feel like he is gone. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and get sad. Part of me feels like if I change my picture, it means, he is really gone and I am not just going to see him the next time I go down to Utah (I know! This sounds ridiculous!) I was reading the manuscript from his funeral and couldn't help but smile at everything everyone said. Grandpa's life inspired me to be a way better person. He was never angry! Never fought with anyone! Always found the best in anyone or any situation! And simply loved life! I wonder how many people leave this life with that type of legacy....How many people are really able to cross the veil with everyone they are leaving behind knowing that they really did live a Christ-like life!?!?! I know that Melvin Albert White did and I am so lucky to have known him and I can't wait for that day when we will finally have our glorious reunion on the other side of the veil. Even though the one man I wanted so desperately to be with my during those big points in my life, (graduation, wedding and being a significant person in my children's lives) I am grateful that I got so many years with him and that he was able to pass before his body couldn't handle the toll that Parkinson's was putting on it. And, I am grateful that I have the knowledge that it is NOT the end. I will be reunited with him someday and what an amazing day it will be when I get to see him jumping around when he sees me!!
So, for now, I am keeping my background as that handsome man because to me, he does still live..his Spirit and enthusiasm for life and everything in it still lives on and I want him to be with me as a constant reminder of how I want to live my life so that one day, those around me will be as proud of me as I am of my Grandpa Melvin Albert White!