Saying "Hello" to what's behind me

My grandfather died of cancer on November 24, 2008, the monday before Thanksgiving. That's what I've been telling people since November 25, 2008, the tuesday before Thanksgiving. I didn't realize just how wrong I was until today, November 8, 2011, 16 days before November 24, 2011, and Thanksgiving. A year or two ago my grandmother gave me his Bible for my birthday. My own Bible has been M.I.A. for about a month now so today I turned to his. My Papa was the greatest man I've ever known, here's why. In the front he had taped two different sticky notes with the same thing written on them: the Methodist/Wesleyan Quadrilateral. It's a way of discerning truth or the answer to a question. Along side the sticky notes was a piece of paper with a poem typed on it called "One." It says "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do somethings. That which I need to do, but the grace God I will do." That was his attitude toward life. Everyday I spent with him, I watched him live this conviction of his out. The last treasure I found was in the placement of one of the markers he had placed in various spots throughout the text. I found one of the ribbons at Hebrews 11. It's the chapter about faith. A dying man specifically marked a passage about not losing faith in the Lord. To me this doesn't say that he never faltered in his belief, but that he knew where to turn when he did. So today, November 8, 2011, is the day I found my way again. I realized that my Papa isn't dead, but that he is alive and well with the Lord he clung to until the bitter end.