Ojiichan

 

My grandpa (Liam called him Ojiichan) passed away this morning. With everything going on this week, I don't think it has fully hit and my emotions are kind of all over the place right now. I wasn't able to be with my mother's parents as often as I would have liked since we didn't live in California, but I have so many fond memories of them, my grandma always standing outside waving goodbye til we drove away, watching the Dodgers game with Grandpa on tv (you know the game wasn't going well when he'd get upset and start speaking in Japanese!), him "supervising" all the little kids during mochitsuki (aka watching Disney with us!), talking with him about his days in the internment camp; my grandparents taking us fishing and Grandpa telling me I needed to be quiet or else I'd scare away the fish... fishing was his passion. He would tell me of his deep sea trips and I have so many memories of Mammoth. When I talked with them once with Liam, Liam wanted to go fishing, but I told him that Grandpa was ill in a home, so we'd have to wait til he was better. Liam said they'd do puzzles instead. And I found them a fishing puzzle, so they played it together this past Christmas. The boys made him smile and I wish he would have been able to meet Callum face to face. It troubles me that I don't think he ever became a believer before he passed away, as I'm not sure what I will tell my child when he asks if Ojiichan is with Jesus.  And sometimes I wonder whether I did enough. Prayed enough. Told him about Jesus enough. Showed him Christ's love enough...  I will continue to tell Liam the memories, so that my little boy can try to picture and live them out himself. And I'll tell him about his love for Grandma. How they were never apart until she died. How he always loved her so deeply, even after she died. Someday maybe I will love like that. And someday maybe he will love someone like that. But oh, how Christ loves us so much more.