Grandpa Covert

Here is the rest of the story on Grandpa...

November 14, 2009 marked the 1-year anniversary of Grandma going on to heaven. I still can't believe she is gone. Grandpa started going downhill a little faster after she passed away. We first moved him into a lady's house who cared for him full-time. However, I think he was probably too much for her to handle (he didn't do well with people being demanding when they asked him to do something and she was very mean and demanding about stuff) and we had to move him into a nursing home, not something anyone wanted to do, but probably for his best. My parents took him to church with him most Sunday's, but Grandpa still did not want anything to do with God. Sometime in October Grandpa began falling while in his room. Not sure why, but the people at the nursing home would find him on the floor; at first they thought he got down there by himself (he liked to take naps on the floor), but they eventually figured out it wasn't on purpose that he was down there. They also had a hard time getting him to eat much of anything anymore, too.

Well, Thanksgiving was about 4 weeks away and I had a very vivid dream one night. Mom's family was over at my parent's house and we were in the middle of lunch and I had to go in the other room into where some of the family was eating. When I got in there, I found my mom crying; I asked her what was wrong and she said she just got a phone call telling her grandpa had passed away. I remember (in the dream), I fell to the ground and started balling because I knew he wasn't saved. However, my mom looked at me and through tears in her eyes, she told me that it would be okay because Grandpa was in heaven.

About a week later November 8, a Sunday, Mom called. And I have to say, I think my heart about stopped b/c I knew the phone call would be coming telling us he was gone. However, this call was different. Mom seemed a little choked up, but she began telling me that that morning on the way to church, she was talking to Grandpa, as she did most Sunday mornings. However, this morning, he seemed to be a little more receptive to what she was saying. When they arrived at church, and were still sitting in the car, Mom asked him if he wanted to pray with her. And I think, much to her surprise, he said yes. And so, there in the car, he asked Jesus into his heart. However, every time Mom would say, "heart," Grandpa would change it to "life." And when they got inside to the Sunday school class, Mom asked him if he wanted to tell them about what decision he made, and he told them and again, it was he asked Jesus into his "life" - not just heart. It was amazing to hear her tell me!!! That was an answer (for me) to almost 20 years of praying! Oh my goodness, I was sooo happy!

From there, things with Grandpa got better. The girls at the nursing home said he was easier to get along with. However, his health continued to go downhill. Eventually, the doctors found that he had a fractured back (probably from when he had been falling) and Mom wanted them to do something to alleviate the pain he was in. So, instead of doing back surgery, they did a new, less invasive surgery that seemed to work to help his pain. We went to see him in the hospital shortly after he had the surgery. They got him to eat a little while he was in there. And he began to do some physical therapy and didn't seem to be doing too bad. But then they decided to go ahead and move him into the VA hospital in Mt. Vernon (which is where Mom wanted him to be). That was around December 21. On December 30 - Wednesday, (my afternoon off) Adam and I were going to go see him. But on Tuesday night, Mom called and I knew something was wrong. She said one of my cousins had just called her and said Grandpa had passed away. The 3 cousins and their husbands were all in his room and had been reading some Bible verses to him and were singing around him and were getting ready to leave and he opened his eyes, let out a a big sigh and then he was gone. They said it was all very peaceful. He closed his eyes to this world, and then opened them to heaven! He was reunited with his bride of 65 (more or less) years. 92 years old and he had finally understood the significance of Christ and what He did for him.

We will all definitely miss him (and miss grandma, too) but we're so happy and we rest easier knowing that he is in heaven. Never, ever give up on those family members and friends who aren't saved! God may still be working on them!