Blessings to you all from our God and Lord, Creator and Redeemer. I apologize in advance for the length of this post but I have a lot to catch up on. Also, I am typing this as I am sitting in a twelve passenger van with six family members as we drive from San Antonio, Texas back home to Iowa, so time in certainly not an issue. I will get to our trip to Texas in a bit, but first I wanted to fill you in on my week in Nebraska. I had a wonderful week moving Bill and Jami, visiting friends, and even had a company Christmas party.
That Friday, the last day of classes two weeks ago, I left St. Louis about 4 in the afternoon after my last class. I found out that is the absolute worse time to ever try to leave or enter St. Louis. They had electric signs saying that 4:30 to 5:30 is a highly advised no drive time. It took me the first hour to get twenty miles down the road. However, after that it was smooth sailing and I got to Nebraska right about midnight. I met up with a friend for a drink, and then headed out to Bill and Jami’s. That weekend, we spent both days moving Bill and Jami into their new house. Saturday we moved everything from their rental house to the new house, and Sunday we went to Columbus to empty Jami’s storage unit and move all of that stuff down to the new house. Sunday night I went to Matt’s house for supper. He lives just south of Seward. I got to know him because he is engaged to my friend Ally. They have asked me to be in their wedding this coming fall and I am excited to watch them grow as a couple.
Monday I helped Jami and her mom unpack boxes, wash everything, and start putting the house together. Monday afternoon I took off and headed west to Worms, Nebraska to see my friends Ben and Shalee. Shalee fed us all a delicious supper, Ben and I got to visit for quite a while, and then Ben’s friend Andy, who I got to know at the wedding, stopped by. That Monday night, December 19th, as Ben, Shalee, and I were watching a movie, my mom texted me and told me my Grandpa was home in Heaven in time for Christmas. He had not been well the past few weeks and was actually in a hospice already since his body was too fragile to continue dialysis, since his kidneys were no longer working. I will tell more about my Grandpa, both his life and his funeral to follow. I continued to watch the movie and then that night said a prayer of thanksgiving for Grandpa finally being home with our Lord.
Tuesday I helped Ben work on the house they are fixing up. We got one whole room primed and painted, some more of his shiplap nailed up, and then more shiplap stained. It was a fun day helping him. I was so glad I got to see both him and Shalee again. Then Tuesday afternoon I left Worms and headed back east to Benedict which is where my friends Robbie and Jen live on their hog farm. Robbie is finishing school at Concordia in Seward while also running seven hog barns at his house. I ate supper with them and had a nice visit catching up with them and their busy lives. Then I went back to Seward and had a few drinks with Ernie, my good buddy who I did everything with this last summer.
Wednesday, I hung out at Bill and Jami’s picking up the house and watching daytime T.V. I forgot how terrible daytime T.V. is with all the court shows, Jerry Springer shows, and soap operas. Then Wednesday night I ran into Lincoln and had supper with Jon and Kelli. Jon lived on my dorm floor freshman year at Concordia and Kelli fed me supper every Sunday night freshman year. They are now married and have an adorable little boy named Mikah. It was fun to catch up with them and play with Mikah. Then I went across town and saw Shane who I worked with at the state this summer. He no longer works for the state so I wanted to make sure I got to see him. I just hung out with him and his fiancé at their apartment. It was fun to catch up with both of them. Then I headed back to Seward in a small snow storm which made me miss snow more than I already did.
Thursday I hung out at Bill and Jami’s again and watched more daytime T.V. and did a little homework. Then Thursday night Ernie and I ran over to Waco to eat supper with Travis and his wife Stephanie. Travis was the mechanic at the state this summer. After he quit, I helped Bill to get his new job there. However, Travis and I always got along really well this summer and so we went and ate supper with them at the bar. Then he invited us out to his house where we played pool and had a few drinks.
Friday I got up and loaded my car. I went to the state shop where they were having a pot luck style lunch for their Christmas party. It was fun to see all the guys again and meet the new guys. Shane quit, Travis quit, and Roy is leaving in a week or so. Next summer when I hopefully work there again, it will be almost a whole new crew. Then after the lunch, I headed to Iowa for the rest of my break. It was such a great week. I got to see so many dear friends I hadn’t seen in quite a while and it was just a really nice break.
Friday when I got home in Iowa, I thought I pulled in the wrong drive way. I have only lived in one house my entire life in Iowa, the same house, same driveway, and the only real change is the small deck we added when Nate was in college and the growth of the evergreens out front. And all of that looked the same it always has. The reason I thought I was in the wrong drive way was because of the 2011 Chevy Camero parked in the driveway. It only took me two seconds to figure out it was my brother Tim’s new toy. I knew he had driven up from Florida, but was expecting to see his big truck that he bought a year ago. Instead, he surprised us all with the Camero.
We spent the rest of the weekend with the whole family together. We played ping pong and basketball, went to church, opened presents, and played cards on Christmas Eve. Then Christmas day we went to church and spent the day watching movies and hanging out. It was a blast to have all of us together again. It is not very often that we have all nine of us together, and after I finish the seminary it will be even harder to get all of us together very often.
Sunday afternoon Tim left and headed back to Florida. Then after he left, the rest of us packed up the van, climbed in, and headed south for the week. We went to Texas for my Grandpa’s funeral which was Tuesday. We left around 3 Sunday afternoon, drove all night with eight of us in the van, and got to San Antonio about six Monday morning. The only sleep I got was about an hour nap in Missouri and then a two hour nap when we got to San Antonio. Believe it or not, 8 Richters do not fit very well even in a 12 passenger van. At one point we had Justin, my nephew, on top of the luggage right behind the very back seat. JoAnna and I shared the back seat for awhile until I tried to sleep on the floor. I wedged myself between the seats but it physically hurt and I could only tolerate it a short while. Then I got shot gun for a few hours as my Dad slept and Nate drove. Then I ended up with a seat all to myself to spread out and sleep, except my nephew decided he should sit on me. So I laid down in the seat and let him lay on top of me. Believe it or not, an 80 pound almost nine year old is heavy and gives off a lot of heat. When we got to San Antonio, everybody else got breakfast and went into my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I stayed in the van to get a short nap before my cousin came out to wake me up. It was a long tiring trip but Lord willing we made it safely.
Monday we hung out at my Aunt and Uncle’s house spending time with family until we were able to check into our hotel. Then we all showered which was much needed, and then went back to my Aunt and Uncle’s. I love when the Abbott side of my family gets together. We always have so much fun together, and I love the fact that we are a hugging family.
Tuesday morning was Grandpa’s funeral. We did it the same way we did my Grandma’s funeral in 2002. We had only family at the cemetery for the burial service at 9:30 and then all went to the church for the actual service at 11 and lunch right after. I really like doing it that way because then it is only family at the burial, and you don’t have to go to the cemetery between the church service and lunch. He is buried right next to my Grandma. Right beside them is my Aunt Lou Ella. For those of you who don’t know, I have never met my Aunt Lou Ella. She died long before I was ever even thought of. My Grandma and Grandpa, my mom’s parents, had seven children. Since Lou Ella is home in Heaven, six are still alive. Lou Ella died when she was three years old. She was running errands with my Grandpa. They were returning glass bottles back to the store. She asked to carry one so Grandpa let her. She fell and the bottle broke. The broken glass cut her throat. They rushed her to the hospital but she didn’t make it. So we got to see her tomb stone as we stood next to Grandpa’s casket in front of his and Grandma’s tomb stone. The service at the cemetery was done by the church’s pastoral care minister. He had known Grandpa for the full 35 years Grandpa was at Concordia Lutheran Church in San Antonio. He had a beautiful little service and we even sang a version of Jesus loves me. Then we all went to church for the actual service. We got many hugs from people who had known and loved Grandpa. The service was beautifully done. There were eleven pastors present, the choir sang a hymn and the benediction, my one cousin played the trumpet for several of the hymns, my other cousin played the piano and sang a beautiful hymn, and Pastor Tucker, head Pastor at Concordia, gave a great sermon about Grandpa and eternal salvation. I guess I should mention that this was the Grandpa who graduated from the same seminary I am at, and was a pastor for 70 years. He graduated in 1941 and continued to share the Gospel, baptize, and commune people even at his assisted living place in his nineties. I will now share what was typed in the funeral bulletin.
“ Reverend Norman V. Abbott- Born August 19, 1917, in Cincinnati Ohio, Norman was the only child of Lawrence and Anna Abbott. Early on, Norman was encouraged by his mother to become a pastor. As a result, he attended Fort Wayne Lutheran Preparatory School and graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1941. He married Ruth Marie Kester and was blessed with seven children. Norman was ordained at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in San Antonio and served as a missionary pastor in San Antonio, New Braunfels, Hilo Hawaii, Maryville Missouri, and Adair Iowa. He used his God-given talents of humor, sharing God’s Word, and meeting and loving people to enhance the church and grow disciples. The last 35 years were spent serving the Lord as the visitation pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church in San Antonio. Up until his death, Norman was still witnessing to those around him, including the residents of The Waterford where he lived.
In the early mornings, he enjoyed the competitiveness of playing tennis with friends. Vacations were spent visiting family, hiking in the national parks, and taking pictures- there was always a slide show waiting to happen at his house. In addition, there were many ping-pong games held on the back porch between Grandpa and the grandkids. Later at the Waterford, he became the pool shark of the second floor.
Reverend Norman Abbott was preceded in death by his wife Ruth and daughter Lou Ella. Survivors are Ruth Anne Endicott and husband Steve of Troy Montana, Lawrence Abbott and wife Phyllis of Maryville Missouri, Ronald Abbott and wife Dorothy of Palmer Alaska, Carolyn Mangels and husband Ken of Georgetown Texas, Evelyn Richter and husband Dave of Adair Iowa, and Robert Abbott and wife Debbie of San Antonio Texas. He had 22 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren and always enjoyed receiving pictures of them. Norman loved his Lord and his family and touched countless lives during his 94 years.”
Five out the six still living children with five spouses, nine out of the twenty-two grandchildren with five spouses, and nine out of the thirty great-grandchildren were all present for his funeral. Most of the rest watched the live stream online.
My Grandpa Abbott is the entire reason I am becoming a pastor. For those of you who have heard this story already I apologize, but for the rest of you I will fill you in. My Grandpa Abbott was a missionary pastor at the country church in Adair Iowa. That is where my mom met my Dad. Grandpa left Adair to head back to San Antonio, but my mom stayed behind, married Dad, and had us four kids. I grew up in Adair with many people who had met and known my Grandpa since Adair is a small town where everyone knows everyone. All my life growing up, I heard from people in Adair how my Grandpa had helped them in one way or another. The kicker was that people who never even went to his church could still tell stories about how he had helped them. I figured out at a very young age, from my Grandpa’s example, that being a pastor is a job that supports a family, serves the Lord, and has the ability to help everyone you meet. I think it was fourth grade when I officially decided I was meant to be a pastor and decided on seminary as my route. I wrote several papers in elementary and high school, did job research for high school projects, and told everyone I was seriously going to be a pastor. In high school I considered being a park ranger but didn’t think I could go through all the internships and actually make it work out. In college I was an education major for awhile and was seriously considering being a high school teacher and football coach. Then once I got into the Geography program I went back to my park ranger idea. However, no matter what I tried or considered, the seminary always came first and was always the best option. From the age of ten in fourth grade, I said I was going to the seminary, and now at age twenty-three I am actually there on my way to be a pastor. Grandpa was my inspiration, without hearing of how he had helped people, seeing how he touched people’s lives, and watching him share the Gospel with everyone he met, I wouldn’t be at the seminary. He was my encouragement, always telling me how proud he was that I was following in his footsteps, wanting me to go to St. Louis so I would be at the same seminary he was, and telling others that he had a grandson who was going to be a pastor like him. Now he is my example. I can only pray and beg the Good Lord to be half the pastor he was. We will never know how many lives he saved by being the faithful Christian who had to tell everyone he met about our Lord and Savior. I strive and pray to be used by the Spirit the same way the Spirit was able to use him. I will use the stories and my memories I have of him in many sermons and to tell my children what an amazing great-grandfather they are going to get to meet in heaven.
The coolest thing is I have gotten quite a few things that were my Grandpa’s that I will always keep and cherish. I got a lot, and I mean a lot of his books, a couple huge boxes of his Bible Studies, four of his stoles, his pectoral cross, a tie clip, and his Greek Bible that you can tell has been used a lot. The tie clip has an “N” on it for Norman; however, I will still proudly wear it and tell anyone who asks about my Grandpa Norman.
One comment that I wanted to be my thought for this post and also just to share, came from the cemetery service. I believe it was my brother who made the comment that the funeral home director, who was in charge of setting up the tent and everything, could probably easily notice a difference in this service to non-Christian ones. All of us family members showed up about nine, all dressed up, and greeted each other with good morning hugs and smiles. It was a beautiful day and we were there to celebrate the life of our Father, Grandpa, and Great-Grandpa. We were sad to lose such an amazing and loving man, but we all knew that he is in heaven where he belongs. Christians can be sad when loved ones are gone, but we do not grieve for the dead. We know that our Savior Jesus Christ has defeated sin, death, and the Devil once and for all. Just as He came back to life and ascended into heaven to sit on His throne, so too will all His children, including Grandpa Abbott, be risen from the dead and ascend into heaven to join the congregation triumphant. That is the reason we were able to smile as we sat in front of the casket and know while Grandpa’s body is buried there, he is in heaven with Christ. We also know that that body will be resurrected but made perfect in the Lord’s second coming.
I do have to admit though there was one place during the church service where I lost it and couldn’t hold the tears back. My cousin Joel was playing the piano and singing the hymn “In Christ Alone.” It is one of my favorite hymns, and I have even memorized the fourth verse of it. I believe I have used it as a prayer before in this blog. While Joel sang it so beautifully, my other cousin Jason played the trumpet with him. It is a beautiful hymn, that was song and played so preciously, and I could no longer help it. It wasn’t even that I was really sad that I started crying, but the one verse talks about Jesus bursting out of the grave. All of a sudden all I could picture, clear as day, was Jesus bursting open that blue casket we had just seen that morning, taking Grandpa by the hand, and leading Him up to heaven. The song has great imagery of the pure Gospel, but that one line and that perfect image that flashed through my mind made me so happy. It made me so that Grandpa was a strong Christian; there isn’t a doubt in any of our minds where he will spend eternity. It made me so happy that he passed that faith down to his family including me; we can all have the same assurance of life eternal that Grandpa had. It also made me so happy that we have a Father who out of His grace and mercy decided to send His Son as our Savior to redeem us rather than condemn us. To me all of that was clearly shown in the imagine of Jesus, our Savior who restored our salvation, bursting open Grandpa’s casket, just as He walked out of His tomb that Easter Morning completing our salvation, taking Grandpa by the hand, just as He claims us all as His baptized children and leads us as He is always with us, and lead him to Heaven, just as we all will be welcomed into His open arms at Heaven’s entrance as His forgiven children. I tried to hold the tears back but it was no use. In fact, Justin was sitting right beside me with my one arm around him, and as I tried to use his head to hide my quivering lip and the tears flowing down my face, he looked up at me. I could see the compassion in his eyes as he said, “It’s OK Uncle Kevy.” I couldn’t even sing the rest of the hymn even though I love it because the tears just kept flowing. After the hymn was over I was able to stop and enjoy the rest of the service.
The rest of the week was just a blessing from God as we spent time with family, played cards, laughing, and telling stories of Grandpa. It was a vacation I will cherish, and I wish the Abbotts could all get together more often.
I wrote all of the above in the van on the way home. We Lord willingly made it home safely last night around eleven thirty. Today has been a day of unpacking, laundry, relaxing, and watching college football. Tonight for New Year’s Eve I plan to go out for dinner with my friend Britt and then just grab a few drinks at the bar in Anita where her boyfriend is bar tending. Tomorrow will be church, napping, and hopefully seeing my buddy Skeeter. Then Monday I will head back to St. Louis to finish the rest of this quarter. I started today going through the multiple boxes of books and Bible Studies that I received from my Grandpa. I decided that will be a good spring break project going through all of them and realizing just how valuable they will be. I did find a set of books I am taking back with me to work through as my personal devotions. It is a Bible Study guide on Proverbs, but the neat thing is I have two copies. One with Grandpa’s hand written notes and one with Grandma’s hand written notes. Grandpa led it in 1997 when Grandma was still alive and I cannot wait to go through the books together and compare his and her notes. Plus it means a lot to me to see her hand writing again.
Well I do apologize for this getting so long. I already included my thought for the day above so I won’t add another one. God’s blessings to you all on your New Year. All Praise be to Him who gives us the hope of life everlasting until the day he calls us home by name.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you so much that you blessed me with a loving and kind family. I especially thank you for the blessing of my Grandpa, who was Your faithful servant and taught his family to do so also. You bless each and every one of us more than we are ever worthy of receiving, and for Your grace and mercy we thank you. We pray all this in the same saving name of our faith, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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