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| PawPaw in Pictures |
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Lifeshots
Memories of Ralph are like a book of snapshots to me. Some are clear and sharp and some fuzzy, but all prompt an emotion and recall a life event. Some of the "lifeshots" in my PawPaw scrapbook include.
Oneonta
Meeting the entire family - he was a strong powerful tornado, the funnel of energy in the midst of all the ruckus and loud talking. He whooped at Ronnie - was I in the midst of a bunch of crazies? I had never experienced so much "life" at one time in any family and PawPaw was the source.
Ralph showed me his office. It held the largest personal library I'd ever seen. I felt awe - I was in the presence of a man like Spurgeon or FB Meyer. That weekend I think Ralph talked to me and took more personal interest in me than my Dad had to that point in my life. It was pretty overwhelming. He liked me - and I have loved him ever since.
Another weekend PawPaw asked me to preach. I was so excited. But also wanted to crap my pants - he was an icon to me - I so wanted to please Jesus and Ralph - and I can't remember who more so! He always gave young men encouragement to enter the ministry.
He and MeMaw were working to grow the Messenger - it was inspiring to see their passion for the gospel drive a MONSTER change in their lives. They demonstrated the value of creativity in sharing the gospel and deep conviction about it's life changing power.
Marriage
I'd followed Jesus' for around two years. A book said that Jesus' men must ask a Father for permission to marry his daughter. So I did. We met in the college cafeteria (what excellent taste). He said, "You two do what you want to do. Just don't ask me to pay for it!"
Kinsey and I wrote our wedding. We wanted to make the gospel clear and our "sermon" ended up being several pages long. We gave it to him and he said, "This is too long! Way too long." We asked him to do it anyway. He read it all (and it was definitely way too long). I can still remember what I consider a unique voice. And I learned that he would tell you what he thought.
Anniston
He and MeMaw were there when April was born. It was really sweet to have a man to share that incredible experience with.
Every Easter Ralph and Barb came to our house to hunt eggs with the kids. They always brought plastic eggs with money inside, every now and then a dollar. One year Timmy found one, opened it and said, "Wow - a green dollar!" PawPaw loved it.
He offered to match or double (?) whatever the kids saved each year. He gave us our first house. He loaned me enough money to buy a car. Pawpaw is a very generous man. Very generous.
Sometimes they would drive up and go to church at ABC. Afterwards, he and MeMaw always took us to Morrison's. It was there that I first recall noticing two longtime habits. One was to shake and bang his glass on the table when he wanted a tea refill. The other was to leave quickly -he was too energetic to stay in one place for long.
Providing for family camp for us all. What an incredible gift. And speaking of incredible - those grits. PawPaw up early in black pants and shoes, talking loud and banging pots in the kitchen. That big, tall, silver looking pot. And best of all, 2 quarts of grits, 6-10 pounds of butter and a cup of salt. Never had better grits in 52 years - absolutely the best. And he made me responsible one year to stir them.
While considering leaving Anniston I called him for advice. After listening to me and asking a question or two, he said, "Don't do that. You have every thing you need and have worked for. It's a stupid move." Once again, he was correct. Pawpaw is wise.
Ministry
Apologetics. The deity of Christ. The good news. Forgiveness. The local church. Reproducing younger servants. Family. Grace and acceptance. Compassion for kids. I remember his arms raised as he preached. What I recall most about that are his hands, especially his fingers, strong, thick, a little curled and spread wide.
We would talk theology while riding in the truck or fiddling in the press or sitting in the house. One day he told me his biggest question of all. "Where did God came from?" It wasn't logical that God didn't start sometime, somewhere.
Starting Line
We all know that PawPaw's finish is actually just the start. After trusting Jesus, he's trained all his Christian life to meet our King well and to reign with Him. Totally human with all our foibles, failures, irritating ways, dark corners and depravity, PawPaw is also magnificently human with all our incredible abilities, image of God majesty, desire to conquer life and need for relationships. And he channeled all that into the progress of the gospel.
He's about start a completely new life: meeting Harold with no hindrances. Bet they both whoop and run to meet with hugs. He might try to give our King a back slap. He will get to hear the answer to,"Where did you come from?" Reunion with his brothers. Welcome home's from all those who trusted Jesus through his ministry and beat him home. And it will only get better forever from there. Awesome.
PawPaw is one of the most significant men in my life. I weep with sadness, gratitude and gladness. I will miss him greatly but anticipate seeing him again even more. I hope he knows how deeply he's impacted me and how much I love him.
Oneonta
Meeting the entire family - he was a strong powerful tornado, the funnel of energy in the midst of all the ruckus and loud talking. He whooped at Ronnie - was I in the midst of a bunch of crazies? I had never experienced so much "life" at one time in any family and PawPaw was the source.
Ralph showed me his office. It held the largest personal library I'd ever seen. I felt awe - I was in the presence of a man like Spurgeon or FB Meyer. That weekend I think Ralph talked to me and took more personal interest in me than my Dad had to that point in my life. It was pretty overwhelming. He liked me - and I have loved him ever since.
Another weekend PawPaw asked me to preach. I was so excited. But also wanted to crap my pants - he was an icon to me - I so wanted to please Jesus and Ralph - and I can't remember who more so! He always gave young men encouragement to enter the ministry.
He and MeMaw were working to grow the Messenger - it was inspiring to see their passion for the gospel drive a MONSTER change in their lives. They demonstrated the value of creativity in sharing the gospel and deep conviction about it's life changing power.
Marriage
I'd followed Jesus' for around two years. A book said that Jesus' men must ask a Father for permission to marry his daughter. So I did. We met in the college cafeteria (what excellent taste). He said, "You two do what you want to do. Just don't ask me to pay for it!"
Kinsey and I wrote our wedding. We wanted to make the gospel clear and our "sermon" ended up being several pages long. We gave it to him and he said, "This is too long! Way too long." We asked him to do it anyway. He read it all (and it was definitely way too long). I can still remember what I consider a unique voice. And I learned that he would tell you what he thought.
Anniston
He and MeMaw were there when April was born. It was really sweet to have a man to share that incredible experience with.
Every Easter Ralph and Barb came to our house to hunt eggs with the kids. They always brought plastic eggs with money inside, every now and then a dollar. One year Timmy found one, opened it and said, "Wow - a green dollar!" PawPaw loved it.
He offered to match or double (?) whatever the kids saved each year. He gave us our first house. He loaned me enough money to buy a car. Pawpaw is a very generous man. Very generous.
Sometimes they would drive up and go to church at ABC. Afterwards, he and MeMaw always took us to Morrison's. It was there that I first recall noticing two longtime habits. One was to shake and bang his glass on the table when he wanted a tea refill. The other was to leave quickly -he was too energetic to stay in one place for long.
Providing for family camp for us all. What an incredible gift. And speaking of incredible - those grits. PawPaw up early in black pants and shoes, talking loud and banging pots in the kitchen. That big, tall, silver looking pot. And best of all, 2 quarts of grits, 6-10 pounds of butter and a cup of salt. Never had better grits in 52 years - absolutely the best. And he made me responsible one year to stir them.
While considering leaving Anniston I called him for advice. After listening to me and asking a question or two, he said, "Don't do that. You have every thing you need and have worked for. It's a stupid move." Once again, he was correct. Pawpaw is wise.
Ministry
Apologetics. The deity of Christ. The good news. Forgiveness. The local church. Reproducing younger servants. Family. Grace and acceptance. Compassion for kids. I remember his arms raised as he preached. What I recall most about that are his hands, especially his fingers, strong, thick, a little curled and spread wide.
We would talk theology while riding in the truck or fiddling in the press or sitting in the house. One day he told me his biggest question of all. "Where did God came from?" It wasn't logical that God didn't start sometime, somewhere.
Starting Line
We all know that PawPaw's finish is actually just the start. After trusting Jesus, he's trained all his Christian life to meet our King well and to reign with Him. Totally human with all our foibles, failures, irritating ways, dark corners and depravity, PawPaw is also magnificently human with all our incredible abilities, image of God majesty, desire to conquer life and need for relationships. And he channeled all that into the progress of the gospel.
He's about start a completely new life: meeting Harold with no hindrances. Bet they both whoop and run to meet with hugs. He might try to give our King a back slap. He will get to hear the answer to,"Where did you come from?" Reunion with his brothers. Welcome home's from all those who trusted Jesus through his ministry and beat him home. And it will only get better forever from there. Awesome.
PawPaw is one of the most significant men in my life. I weep with sadness, gratitude and gladness. I will miss him greatly but anticipate seeing him again even more. I hope he knows how deeply he's impacted me and how much I love him.
Kidney Slaps in Heaven for a Generous Man
In some ways, it's hard to know where to start. After reading all these memories, I am flooded with memories of my own. My heart is overwhelmed with love for PawPaw as I recount the details of our times together. I have gone from laughing at one post to holding back tears with the next one.
The legacy I feel PawPaw has most impacted my life with, is his legacy of generosity. As I will now welcome our first child into the world at any point- I find myself dreaming of what our life will be like as parents and eventually grandparents. I think of my son- what values do I want to pass along to him, what do I want the next generation of Greenfields to be like?
I think of PawPaw and the way he intentionally lived a full life. He was sold out to his passions. He studied about the things he cared about, he expressed himself and his beliefs in his words. he preached the Gospel with a fierce boldness, he knew God intimately and he was generous.
When I returned to the States for this past Christmas, my mom, Leslie and I jumped in the car the day after we arrived and headed down to Elberta. It was an odd feeling knowing that my visit would potentially be the last time I saw PawPaw. I knew that this was going to be the time I would share with him my heart- I didn't want to be in Jordan and regret that I never got to say goodbye. It was sad to see PawPaw, once so strong and vibrant, shrunken and frustrated with his situation in the hospital. I saw his stubborn streak on more than one occasion during the short visit and couldn't help but smile when he argued with the nurse that he didn't want to do anymore leg lifts- he was tired and besides, he had company :).
When it was time to say goodbye, I knew it was my time to share what impact he had made on my life. I shared the following with him- when God opened up the door of opportunity to move to Jordan, Nathan and I knew that very night, we would be moving our life overseas. There is one reason we were able to make such a hefty decision with such ease. We had been preparing for years for this. We didn't know WHERE God would call us, or even WHEN he would call us- but we knew that when He did- we would go. I told PawPaw, that out of my entire graduating class (from the Missions Dept. at TFC), I was only the second person to go overseas as a career missionary. The reason? Almost every single one of them is still paying off their college debt. Nathan and I were one of very few married couples that graduated without debt (interestingly enough- Nathan was able to graduate debt free because of his years spent living at Paradise Mountain for free). Because of PawPaw's generosity and contribution to my school bill- when we received the call to go- we were READY! I don't take this lightly= I feel he and Memaw are a part of our ministry because of their roll in our preparation.
I believe that when PawPaw is in heaven, he will receive a kidney slap of congrats every time we see one our friends turn out of darkness and into the light of Jesus Christ!
Headed down south...
One year preparing for our annual Elberta expedition, there was a change in schedule. As usual, Jason, Richard, and myself were so excited to leave Memaw and PawPaw's and head down south. We were all in the same bed giggling, anxious for the sun to come up. About midnight, PawPaw came in our room for the third time to tell us to be quiet or we wouldn't be going. This time, he sat in "the" red chair and was determined to stare at us until we fell asleep. Only he fell asleep first, and we continued on with the laughing. After he was startled awake again about 2 a.m., he said "That's enough. Get up boy's, we're leaving." Needless to say, this created a detour from our normal Denny's breakfast stop. We were forced to go to the Omelet Shop. It couldn't be any worse than Waffle House, right? It was, and PawPaw sure let us and everyone else in the restaurant know it. He never forgot that breakfast...and let us know it by reminding us every time we passed the Omelet Shop on our way to Elberta.
reading your memories
I am filled with awe as read each of your tributes and memories of paw paw. What an impact he has had on all our lives. I rejoice that I have been blessed to be a part of such a great heritage.
It is hard to sit here in his room seeing his life come to an end. I think about all the nurses who come in and out of his room who don't know what a powerful man he has been. They see a shell and I see a man who preached hard, worked hard, loved hard and played hard. Recently when he and I walked on his property I asked him, "do you know what an impact you have had in people's lives?" with tears in his eyes he said no and I assured him it has been astounding. During that walk I was able to tell him what a great a father he has been to me and how much I loved him. He told he believed he would die in the next year. I wanted to make sure I told him all that was on my heart.
Over the last couple of days I have been reminded of many memories I have of him. I would like to share some of those, in no random order.
I guess I was about 14 and i went to the park with some friends. I was just getting on a motorcycle with some guy and up drove pawpaw to check on me. yikes. He always made sure I knew he could check up on me at any time. And he did quite often. My teen years were difficult for he and I at times yet I always knew he loved me. Many days I would sit on his lap and we would discuss the events going on in my life. He set the standard for the husband I would choose one day. He loved Ron so much.
Dad was the one who taught me about the birds and the bees. I remember one day being with him and him telling me all about boys and how they would want to touch you and i remember saying yuck i am not doing that. Later on down the road I received THE BOOK which went into more detail. (i think we all got that).
I got many whippings but i would have to say for the most part i deserved them. There were times it was unjust but he would admit when he was wrong. He was a fair man.
When I had my own kids and would spank them he would not like it. I would always have to remind him that he had spanked us.
His most powerful influence would have to be in my spiritual development. Who could not fall under conviction with the great sermons he preached. He led our church to have camp events and those were great times spiritually.
Dad had such charism. He was funny and fun to be around. Many people loved him. I have always been proud to be his daughter.
I use to love hearing the story how he drove home so carefully when he brought me home from the hospital. He told that story often when he would call to tell me happy birthday.
And who in the family will ever forget him going out to get a stick to swab our throats with.
The memories just flow through my veins.
Dad, i love you so much. Go fly home and be with your parents, siblings and Harold. we will carry the torch. we will always hold you close in our hearts. we will repeat the stories to one another and to our grandkids. i will try and be the kind of grandparent that you have been. thank you for showing us Jesus in the flesh and for loving each one of us the way that you did.
It is hard to sit here in his room seeing his life come to an end. I think about all the nurses who come in and out of his room who don't know what a powerful man he has been. They see a shell and I see a man who preached hard, worked hard, loved hard and played hard. Recently when he and I walked on his property I asked him, "do you know what an impact you have had in people's lives?" with tears in his eyes he said no and I assured him it has been astounding. During that walk I was able to tell him what a great a father he has been to me and how much I loved him. He told he believed he would die in the next year. I wanted to make sure I told him all that was on my heart.
Over the last couple of days I have been reminded of many memories I have of him. I would like to share some of those, in no random order.
I guess I was about 14 and i went to the park with some friends. I was just getting on a motorcycle with some guy and up drove pawpaw to check on me. yikes. He always made sure I knew he could check up on me at any time. And he did quite often. My teen years were difficult for he and I at times yet I always knew he loved me. Many days I would sit on his lap and we would discuss the events going on in my life. He set the standard for the husband I would choose one day. He loved Ron so much.
Dad was the one who taught me about the birds and the bees. I remember one day being with him and him telling me all about boys and how they would want to touch you and i remember saying yuck i am not doing that. Later on down the road I received THE BOOK which went into more detail. (i think we all got that).
I got many whippings but i would have to say for the most part i deserved them. There were times it was unjust but he would admit when he was wrong. He was a fair man.
When I had my own kids and would spank them he would not like it. I would always have to remind him that he had spanked us.
His most powerful influence would have to be in my spiritual development. Who could not fall under conviction with the great sermons he preached. He led our church to have camp events and those were great times spiritually.
Dad had such charism. He was funny and fun to be around. Many people loved him. I have always been proud to be his daughter.
I use to love hearing the story how he drove home so carefully when he brought me home from the hospital. He told that story often when he would call to tell me happy birthday.
And who in the family will ever forget him going out to get a stick to swab our throats with.
The memories just flow through my veins.
Dad, i love you so much. Go fly home and be with your parents, siblings and Harold. we will carry the torch. we will always hold you close in our hearts. we will repeat the stories to one another and to our grandkids. i will try and be the kind of grandparent that you have been. thank you for showing us Jesus in the flesh and for loving each one of us the way that you did.
Friday, April 18, 2008
It's Electric
Matt wanted me to share this funny memory with yall:
On our way through to Oklahoma, we would always stop and stay with Meems and Pepaw. On one visit, Blackie was being extremely obnoxious and would not stop barking (what else is new). That day Pawpaw had bought an electric collar to put on Blackie to get it to shutup. They put it on and it wasn't really doing anything. THis really bugged Pawpaw, so Matt got to drive Pawpaw and big red to the pet store to exchange the electric collar. They found a more powerful one hoping it would do the trick. Pawpaw wanted to test the collar in the store to make sure it worked. He kept tryin to touch it with his hand and the pet store worker kept saying "Sir you really dont wanna do that" Pawpaw told him "leave me alone I just want to see if it works" so pawpaw stuck his hand on the electric part, which in turn flung his arm back so fast it made pawpaw yell "SHIT!!!!" and he bought it. Matt was so shocked- I'm not sure abot what more- paw paw shocking himself, or cussing!!!!
On our way through to Oklahoma, we would always stop and stay with Meems and Pepaw. On one visit, Blackie was being extremely obnoxious and would not stop barking (what else is new). That day Pawpaw had bought an electric collar to put on Blackie to get it to shutup. They put it on and it wasn't really doing anything. THis really bugged Pawpaw, so Matt got to drive Pawpaw and big red to the pet store to exchange the electric collar. They found a more powerful one hoping it would do the trick. Pawpaw wanted to test the collar in the store to make sure it worked. He kept tryin to touch it with his hand and the pet store worker kept saying "Sir you really dont wanna do that" Pawpaw told him "leave me alone I just want to see if it works" so pawpaw stuck his hand on the electric part, which in turn flung his arm back so fast it made pawpaw yell "SHIT!!!!" and he bought it. Matt was so shocked- I'm not sure abot what more- paw paw shocking himself, or cussing!!!!
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