After Every Storm, There Is A Rainbow

In our lives, we all have that one person that has influenced us the most. Some people would say a friend, teacher or even their parents. I would say my grandpa. The thing that has impacted my life the most is the life and death of my grandpa.

Growing up, i remember that anytime my parents would need a babysitter, we would go to grandpa's house. He would always watch us and be our chauffer no matter what he was doing. He would always go out of his way to help our family in any way that he could.

He was also my biggest fan. Whenever i had a basketball game, soccer game, talent show, or concert, you can bet he was in the front row cheering me on and encouraging me to do my best and be the best person that i could be.

The past few years were really rough on my grandpa. He was in and out of hospitals doing all sorts of tests. He was in so much pain yet, he always had a smile on his face. He never ever complained about anything. If we needed something done, he was always willing to do it no matter how tedious the task was. He never asked anyone for help, he never asked to take a break, he never asked for a day off.

Spending Christmas in the hospital is a less than ideal situation, but as long as the whole family was together, it didn't matter where we were. We laughed, shared stories, and talked for hours then we went home. The day after Christmas, my grnadpa was rushed into a third open heart surgery. Little did we know, he wouldn't be coming out alive. We were all devastated. We cried until there were no more tears to cry, then we cried some more. We knew grandpa wouldn't want us to live like this. We knew he was sitting in heaven looking down at us saying 'stop crying! i'm in a better place now" an "keep your heads up, trust in Jesus, smile always, i will see you very soon!" The days faded to weeks, weeks to months, and months to a year.

Through this experience, I've learned that no matter what you go through, no matter how badly you're hurting, you can hold your head up high and smile! Things aren't always gonna go smoothly, you'll face trials and tribulations everday but you WILL make it through. We were never promised that life was going to be easy, and it wont be! You'll have your ups and you'll have your downs. But life is a rollercoaster, so pick the biggest one, sit in the front, close your eyes, and hold on tight 'cuz you're in for the greatest adventure!