sometimes we need eachother

I LOVED my Grandpa Hoekstra. He was strong, but loving. He grew a garden fit for a king; to die for sweet corn, sugar daddy watermelons and juicy raspberries, my mouth is watering as I type this! I would go to his house and hang out in the yard with him every chance I got. I can picture his yard in my head, perfectly rounded symmetrical flower beds, and rows of flowers along the driveway, planted with care and perfect spacing and height variations, and colors. It was stunning, I wish I could find a photo.

My early years of life were spent on our family pheasant farm. One year all sorts of problems happened, a tornado destroyed all the pheasant pens, next, a bad winter storm hit and the heavy snow collapsed the pens once again. I was young and I don't remember the details of that year, but I do remember that when things got crazy at our house my grandparents always showed up.

I can picture my dad and grandpa out in the yard as they worked as hard and long as it took to fix the situation, and grandma always jumped to action in the house, cooking a meal or making us clean things up. Grandpa and grandma were always there when we needed them. To me, they were the picture of strength.

The day I got my driver's license I wanted to drive somewhere so I decided to visit my grandparents. I walked into the house, and right away I could tell something wasn't right. Grandma hurried me to the kitchen and we had cookies. Grandpa didn't say anything, that was wierd.

I went to give grandpa a kiss as I left and when I got close, I could see tears on his cheeks. WHAT??? Grandpa crying???? whoa, NOT GOOD! I rushed home and told my mom and dad thru hysterical tears that I thought grandpa was dying.

My dad assured me that grandpa was fine, but decided to go and check on him anyway.

You know why my grandpa was crying? Because someone else was mowing his lawn. I'm serious. My grandpa had been sick, and was having some dizzy spells so my grandma forbid him to mow in case he passed out, so the neighbor was mowing it for him.

Part of the reason my grandpa was so bothered about someone else mowing his lawn was that he took great joy in his yardwork, and he didn't like having someone else tending to it. Another part of it had to be pride, right? After all grandpa was the one coming to everyone else's rescue all the time. He was the strong one, and I he didn't like much having someone helping him out.

One of the strongest women I know is sick, and it's driving her nuts! We missed her at study today. She's the one who is always encouraing everyone else, and she is so filled with the Spirit that she knows just the right thing to say all the time, and now here she is, not feeling well. She knows she rests securely in God's hand, but it's hard to stay positive when she knows she's not feeling well, yet doesn't know WHY she isn't feeling well.

Aren't we all like that in some way? We want to be self reliant, we want to go about in life relying only on our own strength. I think of another strong woman in our church who is paralyzed and is forced to rely on everyone for almost everything. I wonder if it gets on her nerves sometimes.

I just wanted to tell my friend that it's okay to rely on others for a change. We're here for you, praying for you and we love you. You'll be back on your feet in no time and this will all be a distant memory. In the meantime, it's ok to be grumpy, moody, in a funk...it's ok, you are allowed to let to your guard down, you are allowed to be human. Remember that God does give us our daily bread...he provides it in just the exact amount we need for that day...all we have to do is get out of the tent and gather it up. WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!!!!!