Today, on the 2nd day of February, a month that celebrates love, I'm reminiscing about one love story that holds a special place in my heart. It is a love story I've not only heard, but seen played out in the lives of two people who not only spoke their vows, but lived them every single day of their 62 years together.
I still remember watching my grandma sit at the bedside of the man she vowed to spend her life with, till death do us part. She held his hand, whispered words of love, cried as she said goodbye, and watched as he breathed his last. Even after his spirit was gone and his body was left an empty shell of the man we all so loved, my grandma sat there talking to him and sharing her heart as she began to process life without him.
I watched her body go limp as they carried his body away for the last time, held up by her eldest son who never once left her side that day. I heard her grief over the phone when I called her one day shortly after as she whispered through her tears, "I just miss him so much".
Through the years, I watched their love continue to blossom, my grandpa reaching over to hold her hand, leaning down to kiss her in the middle of a family gathering, eyes shining with a love so deep. I saw the way they held each other up through the hard times and knew that one day I wanted to find a love like theirs.
In the last year and a half since he left her side, she continued to journal and write him letters, this time writing about her "life after Paul". She shared with me stories of their years together, of the house they designed and built together, of the family they raised and cherished together, of the losses they walked through together. Her eyes still held a sparkle every time she spoke of him.
I remember my mom saying once that she hoped they both died at the same time, because she couldn't imagine the one without the other. When grandpa died, we were so grateful for the time we still had with grandma. Still, she once said, "I know I have so many family and friends who love me...but, at the end of the day, it's just me." I know there wasn't a day that went by she didn't miss him, feel the emptiness where his presence used to be.
I can only imagine what life would be like without the man I loved for 62 years. I pray for many more years with my husband, because I want to know that kind of deep love that weathered a lifetime together. I want my children to see our love lived out loud, so they can continue that legacy of love in their own homes one day.
Your grandparents love sounds incandescent and full of everlasting bliss. At the end of the day it may just be her, but he'll be waiting for her as well. Preparing a way for his love in their new home prepared by our Lord.
ReplyDeleteHave mercy, girl. You made me choke full of tears. I want to have that very same kind of love. And I hope that you and your husband have the same as well.
Alita
This was beautiful. I've been married 27 years ~ and our nest is now "empty"...and I' can't begin to tell you what the comfort of that life companion means at the end of each day. We feel so blessed to have each other and to still want to have each other after these years. I can only pray for as many more years together as your grandparents knew...what a journey! Thanks for sharing this today!
ReplyDeleteI work at a retirement community and see this type of love, it truly amazes me. I think with my generation this long and enduring love is a rarity, with divorce rates increasing and people getting married later in life. Love like that is precious and rare...hopefully at one point in our lives we find love like that.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful post.
So glad they were blessed with a love like this. I can't imagine the loss she felt.
ReplyDeleteIt is so refreshing, in this jaded world, to witness love that does indeed last a lifetime. Your grandparents sound like amazing, wonderful people and their love is inspirational. I hope for that for me and my husband, and I hope for that for you and yours.
ReplyDeleteYour grandparents had such an inspiring love! Thank you for sharing their story.
ReplyDeleteI'm choked up with tears at this kind of beautiful love ... what a gift that you had witnessed it growing up and as an adult. I find myself praying for that kind of love longevity in my marriage, too, and I pray expectantly that He delights to answer that prayer.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents were like this too -- holding hands in church, dancing around the kitchen, teasing and flirting all over the place. It was one of THE most precious things to be a witness to, and has shaped my own marriage.
ReplyDeleteI miss them. But I'm proud and blessed to have seen their love firsthand. So glad you got to see that kind of love, too, as hard as it is to see them being separated in the end.