Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
I don’t remember my Grandpa Clyde’s voice. I think about him often, but his voice always eludes me. Then I read Isaiah 1:18 in my Bible reading today and his voice came rushing back. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be as crimson, they shall be as wool.” When I read it, I heard him. His voice gravelly, hushed, awed as if the Word was too holy, too precious to say in his regular speaking voice.
My grandfather didn’t have a normal life. He was orphaned at 13 when his entire family (except for an older sister who was married) went into town from their farm to run errands. He was given the opportunity to go but opted to stay home to ride his horse. It was while they were in town that their car was struck by a train and his mother, Elizabeth, father, Owen, and brother, Ray, were killed instantly. He bounced around from family member to family member. Nobody had much and feeding an extra mouth for too long wasn’t easy.
I think when he finally became a Christian in adulthood the tragedy of his childhood made it possible for him to truly see God as his Father and value that relationship like no other, having lost his earthly one at such a young age. I knew no one who had such a pure and tender love for God as he. The night he got saved, the Holy Spirit hovered over him for hours at the altar as God washed away the pain of his past. He never looked back.
A few years before he died he had an experience. He called it a dream but I am not entirely convinced that God didn’t take him to heaven. He described walking through a beautiful garden with colors he had never seen before — he had been a paint chemist by trade, but was colorblind, so colors were only numbers to him. As he continued walking, he came upon a group of people seated, one of whom was Jesus. He sat talking to them but when he saw my Grandpa Clyde he got up and came over to him. Jesus took his hand and started walking. He took him through the garden, pointing out sights as they walked. Grandpa always said several times in each story-telling, “He never let go of my hand.” They walked to the crest of a hill and could see the beautiful landscape and cattle stretched out as far as the eye could see. Jesus motioned with his hand and said, “See this? This all belongs to me.” He took him to another place and said again, “See this? All this is mine.” They made several stops along the way, as Jesus showed him the treasures of heaven, and Grandpa would say, again, “But He never let go of my hand.” They eventually arrived at a great building and entered a room filled with tables laid ready, overflowing with food. A great feast. The Marriage Supper. It was only then that Jesus let go of his hand and Grandpa woke. He sat up in bed and the fragrance of the Lord filled the air. He woke my grandma. “Maxine, the Lord is in this room.”
When my grandpa told this story, which wasn’t often, it never failed that his voice would catch, his eyes would well up and spill over. He could never get through it without weeping. Sometimes I hear people recounting experiences they had with the Lord. “The Lord walked in my room and…” or “I heard God’s voice and he said…” If you’re going to tell me a story like that, please don’t tell it to me like you were ordering food from a drive thru or relaying to me what you bought at the store yesterday. Seeing the Lord should change you. It certainly changed Jacob, in the Old Testament. He walked differently for rest of his days!
When grandpa died at 88 his memorial was attended by family and friends. It was also attended by waiters from Old Country Buffet, employees from Costco and other stores they frequented, people whose houses he painted, etc. Why? He would connect with people while he went about his day. He practically lived his life at Old Country Buffet. He went through the same line at Costco every time. He built relationships wherever he went. He lived his life as if he had seen the Lord and spread the fragrance of His presence to whoever crossed his path.
Man, I want to live like that!
Things Pondered 