Near Misses and Shots Never Taken

creativeinspiration:

“This is a phenomenal idea for a Birthday Gift. Definitely one that won’t be forgotten and can be passed down.”

Click through to read the whole story, so awesome…

I saved this post because I thought it was a wonderful idea, asking people for memories or stories of someone until it reaches the number of their age. I was hoping to do it for my great-grandfather, because he’d turn 90 in April.

I haven’t been posting much at all this week, because my great-grandfather died on Monday. He was a pastor who started his own church and school, a World War II veteran who was a pilot and was captured by Germans, and the patriarch of my family. As of his death, he had 4 children, 16 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. There will almost certainly be more to come.

2 years ago today, I had to stand up and read at the memorial service and wake of a very good friend of mine. Today, I had to stand up and read once again as I laid to rest someone else I love dearly. Deaths never get easier to handle. But the proof that you did and do love someone with a love greater than you thought you were capable of, that is worth the pain.

(Source: pinterest.com)