Grandfathers AKA "Pawpaws"

Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Prov 22:6 (ASV)

When I was a child, I was fortunate to live about 2/10 of a mile from my grandparents. Oh yes, I was spoiled rotten. And yes, I was loved by them. They watched me before I went to school when mom worked. They watched me in the summers when I was too young to stay by myself. To say that I was close to them is an understatement.

Mawmaw and Pawpaw saw to it that I went to church when Mom and Dad were not "regular" attenders. I attribute my spiritual education as a child to them. VBS was ALWAYS a time I looked forward to. During craft time, the workers would let me make two of whatever the craft was that day: one for Mom and Dad and one for Mawmaw and Pawpaw. Those are great memories.

During the summer, my cousins that lived in Greenville, MS would come and spend two or three weeks with them (me) and I have wonderful memories of them, also. Getting into the hen house to make "mud pies" (well, we needed eggs!), walking to the cemetery (just behind Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house), climbing in the old barn and corn bin (with all the mice and snakes, I shudder to think!), swinging in the old black walnut tree...Oh I could go on and on. There is one memory however, that as an adult brings a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

Pawpaw had an old 65 Chevy truck. It was baby blue with white trim. I learned how to drive a standard on the column. In fact, I learned how to drive in that old truck driving on the gravel road between their house and ours. One summer, my cousins were down and we asked if we could paint Pawpaw's truck. What?! We were 8-10 years old. What were we thinking? He said "yes". What was he thinking?! He gave us a bucket of white paint and he told us where we could paint. And paint, we did! We tried to stay within the parameters he set for us, but hey, we were 8-10 years old! His reaction to our handiwork was priceless! He was so proud of what we had done that he showed it off to everyone that day! We were so proud that we had pleased our Pawpaw that we wanted everyone to see our "work".

That reminds me of our heavenly Father. I try to stay within the parameters that He has laid out for me, but I don't always make it. My grandparents instilled in me the importance of pleasing my Father and my Pawpaw showed me how much He delights in me by the way he found joy in me! To honor my Pawpaw's memory, I have restored his old truck. This time I had it professionally painted!