It's the 4th of July. The day America celebrates its freedom.
But today is bigger than that for us. It's the day that our dear friend and adopted grandpa, Elton Earp, went home to Jesus. Today he gained a new and perfect freedom...freedom from his temporary home, his holding place. Right now he is in Heaven where he is free to worship and praise his Savior.
For the last little while Jason and I have been sitting here on our balcony and in between tears and laughs we've been sharing stories about all the good times, memories, and funny things we could remember about Elton. What a guy he was. Faithful, proud, true, genuine, real, kind, rugged, giving, LOVING.
Some things we want to remember: what a genuinely giving person he was, giving me a hard time about only being able to eat ONE big pancake at the Farmer's Market, always wanting to get me (and getting me!) pink lady apples, how he LOVED Jason, the true friendship he and Jas had, his great memory of all things Durham, how he loved the church, his funny jokes, his "girlfriends" at the market, always making sure Jason was going to be on time, his long, long phone conversations, his love for his dog(s), and the list could go on and on...
Mostly he would want us to remember that He loved JESUS and was so ready to be with Him. He lived a long, full, hard, but good life. He was a rock solid man who trusted Jesus wholeheartedly.
We'll miss you, Grandpa Elton, but we know you'd MUCH rather be where you are. Your life was a testimony...thanks for living it to the fullest for all of us to see! We love you!
Thought about you today! So blessed to have know Elton and thankful for the love he shared. Praying for you as you deal with this loss away from family and friends!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said. So sorry for your loss!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys. This is beautiful.
ReplyDelete