I Have His Love Wherever I Am

My grandparents’ house was a place of love for me. They were loving people in a sweet old Cape Cod house by the Delaware Bay, surrounded by his magnificent boxwoods, crepe myrtles, vegetable garden and her petunias along the walk.

I grew up from a wee one there, visiting and staying with them often. I played in the garden rows, shelled limas on the porch swing with my Grammy and often skipped down the road to my friend Cherie’s house to climb on her mimosa tree.

When Pop Pop died and we had to sell the house, I wanted so badly to purchase it. The thought of letting that idyllic spot in my world slip through my fingers was heartbreaking. It seemed like all things good welled up from that plot of land on the edge of Newport, New Jersey.  But no, it’s just that Jim and Eva cultivated good things there as they lived. They knew God’s word, prayed with their grandchildren, served in church and loved their neighbors.

As I write this, I see four of Pop Pop’s spruce trees planted in my front yard. They are getting big and someday they will grow out over the walk and need to be removed. I will be sad but I needn’t worry about change. Pop Pop is in my heart, not my yard. And Jesus is not in a place, but everywhere, in me, and wherever I go. Grammy put Him in my heart, so I could have His love with me forever.

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17