Dear Miller,
Happy birthday #9 my young grandson!
I have had the privilege of knowing your awesomeness for almost a decade now. Last year I wrote you a Pop Pop epistle about unfinished sentences. Here’s one that I want to take a few minutes and finish myself:
Two things that make Miller such an awesome nine year old are…
You love BIG – Turtles. Lizards. Goats. Dogs. Elephants. And especially people. I don’t say this just because you are without a doubt the best snuggler in our family but because you communicate and express love towards others substantially. Very few people love as big as you do. Where does this come from? My guess would be that you know how much you are loved and so it comes natural for you to reciprocate. Or maybe it is just the way that God designed you. And I’m very glad that God did. It’s one way that you are like Jesus. He also loved BIG!
- Mary and Martha and Lazarus knew it: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” (John 11:5)
- The Apostle John knew it – he referred to himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (John 13:5)
- Even the rich young ruler who was not a follower of Jesus knew it: “Jesus looked at him and loved him…” (Mark 10:21)
- And everyone who has embraced His magnanimous love demonstrated at the cross knows it.
The second thing that I would mention is not unlike the first thing but I say it like this…
You feel deeply – The first time I really realized this was a number of years ago when you were loving on a fish that you had caught and I was concerned that the fish had been out of the water too long – so I threw it back in the pond. Your reaction was immediate. You would have thought that I had killed your best friend. Sad face. Teary eyes. But mostly slumped shoulders. Most people wear their feelings “on their sleeve.” You wear your feelings on your shoulders.You felt so deeply about that fish that you had known for maybe 2 minutes. And then last month when Duke lost on that last second shot to UConn, I would have thought that your dad or your bros would have been the most wrecked – but no… from what I am told it was you, because you feel everything so deeply. Just like Jesus.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)
And when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane just before going to the cross, His deep feelings actually caused a physical reaction – “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44). Matthew said it like this: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (Matthew 26:38)
Thanks for being awesome – in a lot more ways than just these two. Hope you have a bodacious 9th birthday celebration. Nona and I are already looking forward to #10.
Never forget that you are very loved!
Pop Pop