My Pap-paw, my mom’s dad, was an angry alcoholic who was hard on his family and his wife, my Granny. Although he was originally from Kentucky, his family sent him to Oklahoma to live with his older brother Ed. They were concerned, since he was the youngest son, that he would be killed in all the feuding there in Kentucky. His mom died young, and his sister was the one who had to raise all the children. Pap-Paw was severely depressed and tried to self-medicate with alcohol. At times, my Pap-paw would just disappear from his family. He would hop on a freight train and ride it back to Kentucky. His family there would call my Granny and let her know he was there and that he was ok. When my mom visited their home place in Kentucky, they had to park the car and walk back into the woods. She said there were bullet holes in the house, and she was afraid to stay there as a child.

My mom and her siblings lived in fear of him, and once he even had a gun and told them if they did something, he would kill them. They hid out in the barn for a while. Their mom, my Granny, took the brunt of his anger, and they never knew when they came home from school what they would find.

Three men from the Baptist church in Blackburn, OK kept inviting Pap-Paw to church, and one evening he went as they were having revival services. A miracle took place in his life, and Pap-paw surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and took Jesus as his Savior. He never drank alcohol again. He totally changed in a moment. My Pap-paw was the Treasurer of that church when I came to know him, and he rarely missed a service there. Now in that church, the men had to sit on one side of the church and the women on the other. There were a few times in his later years that my Granny sure wished she could elbow him as he slipped into a deep sleep and began to snore.

My Pap-paw wrote in my little autograph book that he hoped someday I would receive Jesus as my Savior. When I was born, he gave me a little Bible with verses marked in it for me to read when I was old enough. He said to start with the book of John. His message to me in that little autograph book helped me make the decision to follow Jesus and be baptized. We lived in Cuba, NM when I was in the sixth grade, and I was baptized in a little Baptist church there.

Some day when I get to heaven, I am going to look up those three men from that little Baptist church in Blackburn, OK and tell them thank you! Thank you for caring enough to rescue my family from the pit of despair. Thank you for inviting my Pap-paw to church, so I could know to give my life to Jesus, so that I could raise my kids to know to give their lives to Jesus and so that my grandchildren could know how important it is to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

If you desire to know how to have a personal relationship with Jesus, I will tell you. First in Romans 3:23 it says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We need to know that we are all sinners. The Word says all have sinned. We need to ask God for forgiveness for our sins.

Romans 6:23 says that the wage of sin is death; BUT the gift of God is eternal life. (I just love those BUTS in the Bible.)  Romans 5:8 says that while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for our sins. Jesus paid the price on the cross for our sins. This is a gift from Jesus. All we must do is receive this gift by repenting of our sins, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross, and three days later, He arose. Romans 10:13 says for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Here is a prayer to pray if you would like to receive the free gift of eternal salvation.  Dear Jesus, As your word says, I have sinned and I ask for your forgiveness.  I confess with my mouth that you are the Son of God and you died on the cross for my sins and that you rose again. My desire is to accept your free gift of salvation and let you be the Lord of my life. Thank you for saving me.  In Jesus name.  Amen.  Pretty simple and amazingly easy to do. If you need any help, contact me and I will show you the way.

     “Grandfathers are just antique little boys.”  –Unknown

My Granny and Pap-paw were always incredibly special to me. My Granny took me to Vacation Bible School as much as she could and to Sunday School. I loved going to church, and I still do. Both sets of my grandparents were very influential in my life. They both showed me the love of Jesus and how through the most tragic times of life, Jesus will carry you through.

     “Grandparents, like heroes, are as necessary to a child’s growth as vitamins.”—Joyce Allston