I was only ten years old when my grandfather died, and I took his death hard. I can still remember that day and the days leading up to his funeral. He died on a summer Sunday afternoon in our small hometown hospital. He had been watching the Chicago Cubs and had fallen asleep. He awoke with the last words his earthly body would ever speak before God escorted him home. “Did the Cubs win?” One would expect a person’s last words to be more profound, not something as trivial as a baseball score.

However, I have come to reconsider his last words after meditating on two words a friend and mentor of mine often uses to end his letters and emails, “God’s Peace.” In a chaotic world full of more questions than answers we can have God’s eternal peace and a sustaining present peace. My grandfather died with God’s Peace, and his last few years were a testament to that fact. His physical suffering ended that July Sunday afternoon, his heart and conscience clear. Yes, the Cubs won that day (6 to 0 against the Cardinals) and so did my grandfather.

I think his early death played a role in my life’s work and calling. We live in a society where old things are collected, where youth is worshipped, and the aged are easily pushed aside and deemed irrelevant. I am told that growing old is not fun and, to a degree, that is very true. Aging is the convergence of a myriad of emotions, but none are too difficult for God to handle. Elder Source exists to offer hope and peace to seniors in their final years.

Still a Cubs fan!
Stan Means
Elder Source Senior Ministries