Sunday afternoon my grandfather passed from this world into the arms of Jesus.

For 46 years, my Bigdaddy was larger than life to me. He was a powerful preacher – I can close my eyes and clearly see him standing at the pulpit in Colorado Springs and hear his strong voice calling the congregation to draw near to the God who had saved them.

He was also a gardener whose tomatoes were best fresh off the vine. I can remember his garden with tomatoes, corn, beans and so much more. He worked hard – tilling the soil, planting the seeds, tending the fragile early buds, weeding and harvesting the bounty.

But the seeds he nourished the most were the seeds of the soul. When he turned his attention to you, it was without any distraction. A great listener and wise counselor, my Bigdaddy led not just his family but also his friends to deeper faith in God.

My brothers and I believed he was Superman. At one point, we began to waver in our certainty, and one of us asked him to prove it. He smiled big and began unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the “S” underneath. That was it – we never doubted again! (Though now, I am amazed that the day we asked he had on a Superman undershirt, and I wonder if he always wore one just in case.)

The Superman of our family fought a long, hard battle with Parkinson’s. We watched as his body quit doing all the things it had always done. His pace slowed, and the words took longer to form.

But two weeks ago today, I sat with him and we talked about my recent book release. He was excited to hear “Praying for Girls” had gone to a second printing so quickly. But, as always, he wanted to know what I was working on now. I mentioned my fondness for the minor prophets, and he had my Bigmama hunt up one of his commentaries to give me.

Sunday afternoon my dad texted me that Bigdaddy was gone. Tears in my eyes, I whispered a prayer of thanks for having had him for so long. It’s a special thing to be 46 and have living grandparents, for my daughter who is 17 to know her great-grandparents.

A familiar verse came to mind, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sister, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:14 CSB).

Though Bigdaddy is gone, we grieve with hope! We know he is healed and whole. And we know he is in the presence of the Savior whose love he proclaimed from pulpits and in conversations for almost 87 years. And we know we will one day see him again. And in that we do have true hope!