When I gathered the courage to call Great Grandfather (as Marcos refers to him) I asked God to guide me in what to say. I wanted so badly for him to confidently let go knowing that we all loved him so much and that his words would not be forgotten. I found this prayer and thought that it perfectly stated what my heart wanted to say to him. When I called I reminded Great Grandfather of a long warm embrace we shared when I got home from college right after Grandma died. We couldn't wait to see each other. He schleped all the way up to the third floor to throw his arms around me. I knew Gram was up there anxiously awaiting to give him that same loving warm hug. Here is the prayer I prayed to him:

Dear Heavenly Father, With heavy hearts we come to You. You are Almighty Creator God; holy and full of grace and love. Our hearts are heavy because of a life that is leaving us. Death engulfs us Lord. Fear is waiting to take us down. Thank You Father, that because of Jesus, You know our pain and sorrow intimately. Thank You that Jesus knows the way through this dark shadow. Take the hand of our dear Grandfather and make Yourself known. Guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Keep that which is Your own and take it into eternity to be with You. In Jesus, death is but a shadow. Jesus has swallowed up its sorrows and pain. Thank You Jesus for the cross. Thank You Jesus for the resurrection. Lord, we are before You, confessing that You are Lord of all; the gate keeper to eternal life. Your grace and love abound even as our sin seems ever increasing. Take our hands Lord and lead us through. We lay our fears at your feet. Your promise is that You -- and You alone -- will come to take us home. As it says in Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (ESV). 

Thank you for the comfort we find in Your presence. Through the Holy Spirit we know Your presence is with us. Send us Your peace Lord; the peace that passes all understanding. Don’t let us waiver and doubt. Give us a faith that is everlasting. We release our lives into Your hands. As we wait and watch, we know Lord that none of us will escape this journey through death. Teach us how to embrace it with faith. Give us strength to hold up those who are stepping closer to seeing You face to face. Take away the fear in the heart of our loved one who will soon see You; let them find peace in Your grace, comfort in Your love, and strength in Your mighty power over death. Comfort us as our grief seems to over power us. 

You are a good, just, righteous, and loving Father. Don’t let us grow bitter in this shadow of death. But pierce our hearts with a joy that we can not fathom or understand. A joy that is above all that is corrupted here on earth. Jesus you wept over death and so too, we weep. But it is a grief and a mourning that holds joy on the other side. You are conqueror of all; and so we trust You. We trust that You will do what is right, what is loving. Whether in death or in life Your will is accomplished and You are sovereign. May we know Your presence, Lord. Keep us ever aware of Your loving hand guiding us through all things. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

I spoke those words to him and told him to not be afraid Jesus and Grandma were waiting. Then I asked Marcos to tell Great Grandfather that he loved him so much and I asked him to recite the only bible verse he knows by heart Isaiah 54:17: no weapon formed against me can prosper. 

I said goodbye to him and I wept. I prayed for the suffering to end for him and for eternal life to begin. I could not have been happier when Alecia called me and let me know that he finally let go shortly after I hung up with him. He lived a good long life, every single one of us felt his warm sweet love and suffering is over now. Praise God.

Oh Gramp, you are dearly missed already. I hope you and Gram are dancing and holding hands and smiling as you look down on us. I love you both.