Growing up we went to my Grandparent's house quite a bit. They lived about 30 minutes away from us. When my parents had stuff to do on the weekend my brother and I would go visit them. I could not imagine trying to count how many times we went to their house in a year, much less in my childhood; yet I can only remember a small handful of times they came to see us.
When I was in kindergarten my Grandparent's came for Thanksgiving with a bunch of the extended family. When my brother and I got baptized they came for that. The next time I remember them coming I was a somewhere around 5th grade.
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| The Day My Brother & I Got Baptized |
My brother and I had spent the weekend with my Grandparents and they took us home that Sunday morning and stayed for church. We were sitting together. Grandpa was on the end of the pew, by the center aisle, and I was next to him. On the other side of me was Grandma. We made it all the way through church... Well, most of the way through church. The hymn of invitation began and we were standing there singing when an older woman walks down the aisle and out the door. My Grandpa got up and followed her. My Grandma didn't notice, right away, and I was standing there a little stunned not quite knowing what to say. Grandma noticed after a verse or so that I was quieter than normal and Grandpa was missing. She nudged me and asked where he went and I told her he got up and walked out the doors. So, we stayed and waited for church to end, assuming he went to the men's room or needed some air.
After church we found him and asked where he went. It turns out the lady that walked out just before him was his step-sister. That's right, his step-sister... and he had no idea she went to our church. He had not talked to her in years. I didn't even know he had a step-sister until then. My Grandma was not thrilled. At one point my Great-Step-Aunt and her family had lived with my Grandparents and it did not go well.
That day was the beginning of a lovely relationship with this unknown relative. I love her dearly. I only had two years with her, but what a blessing those years were and all because of an accidental meeting on one of the rare occasions my Grandparents took us home. Thank God for that fortuitous meeting.
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