Fridays with Grandpa

For the twins Elian and Elack, Friday was their favorite day of the week. Each Friday the boys spent time with their grandfather while their mom worked. They had many adventures together fishing, biking, hiking, and even building projects.

As the lime green frog clock rang seven, Elian snapped awake and began shaking his still groggy brother. “Elack, wake up, it’s time to get ready for grandpa’s house.” Elack, wiping the eye crusties from the night’s sleep, slowly crawled out from under his warm Star Wars comforter. Both boys got dressed and prepared for a day of fun.

Making their way to the kitchen, the warm smells of breakfast met their noses. “Hmm, it smells like sausage, I’m really hungry!” Elack said as his feet picked up their pace.

“Me too,” Elian agreed.

Mom noticed the familiar sound of two sets of six year-old feet. She stood tall in front of the stove, stirring two different pans. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a baby blue towel was parading the top of her shoulder.

“Good morning boys, the sausage and eggs are almost ready, I set some glasses of orange juice on the table. Go ahead and have some juice while you wait.”

Both boys spared no time in drinking part of their juice. They knew not to drink the whole glass because water would be their second helping.

“Here we go.” Mom placed four links of brown goodness on each boy’s plate and a large helping of eggs. Elian and Elack tried to eat as quickly as they could, but nothing went past their mom. “Slow down boys, I know you are excited to spend time with Grandpa, but if you eat too quickly you’ll get a stomach ache. 

Both boys tried to slowly down. Elack began to daydream of what they might do with Grandpa that day. Perhaps they would build a rocket ship out of legos or make a pretend pirate ship. Curious, Elian asked his mother, “Mommy do you know what the special project is that we are working on with Grandpa today?”

Mom looked at both of her boys and let out a wink and a smile before answering. ”Yes, but it’s a surprise, you’ll find out soon.”

Finishing their breakfast, Elian and Elack raced for the front door where they had readied their backpacks the night before. Mom grabbed her keys and purse and they were on their way. 

Not long into their car drive, Grandpa’s house came into view, the paint on the old white farm house was weathered from the elements and beside it stood an old red barn. The twins loved to explore and play in the barn, all except for the loft, which was off limits. Grandpa no longer housed animals in the barn, it was mostly an empty shell that allowed two young boys to let their imaginations run wild.

As the car came to a stop, the twins unbuckled their seats and ran to greet their grandfather. On the bottom step of the weathered farmhouse stood the similarly-weathered man. Grandpa had gentle eyes and demeanor, but the work of farming showed in the lines on his face and stiffened hands.

“Grandpa, grandpa,” both boys said in concert. Being twins they would often speak in unison.

“What are we going to do today Grandpa?” Elian asked eagerly as Elack looked on with a smile, grinning from corner to corner.

“Hold on boys, we will get to the project. But first you need to give your momma hugs and tell her goodbye.”

Both boys did as Grandpa said and Mom left for a day at work.

“Ok boys, let’s make our way over to the barn. That’s where we will be working today.” Elian and Elack ran ahead and waited at the large white slider door. The paint on the door was cracked and the door let out a loud squeak as Grandpa opened it. As the barn door came to a stop and the inside came into full view, the boys took in all that Grandpa had prepared for them. Four tables, each six feet in length, were placed together creating a large workspace. On the tables were wooden boards of various sizes, tools, sandpaper, stain and wood glue.

“Wow!” Elack exclaimed, “are we going to build a rocket ship?”

Grandpa let out a joyful chuckle, “That is a good idea Elack, but not this time. We are going to make a cross today, Easter is just a few days away.” The twin boys both looked up at Grandpa with confusion. Surely there would be something else they would make.

“Ok, so then what will we be making after the cross?” Elack asked.

“It’s going to take us most of the day to put the cross together, boys.”

“Oh.” Elian mumbled as he and Elack looked at the ground, staring blankly at the dirt floor.

“Boys, it might not be flashy or the latest thing but the cross is very important.” Grandpa sounded serious.

“Why’s that?” Elian asked.

“The cross reminds us of all that Jesus has done for us. Why don’t we listen to the Resurrection story while we work.”

Grandpa felt in his pocket for his black smartphone, clicked onto a Bible app and turned up the volume. As the true story was told, Grandpa helped the boys sand the cross to a smoothness that allowed for no splinters. The sweet smell of wood filled the barn and both boys were engaged in their work while listening. By lunch time the three craftsmen had each of the boards sanded smooth and ready to be joined together. 

While enjoying a yummy lunch of macaroni and cheese with hot dogs at Grandpa’s old-fashioned red kitchen table, the twin boys began to ask questions.

“Grandpa, why were people so mean to Jesus?” Elian said puzzled.

“Well, that is a good question… I guess there were a lot of different reasons: for some it might have been from a simple misunderstanding, while for others it was much deeper, be it jealousy or hatred. Jesus was healing people and crowds were following him to hear his message of truth, and that made people in authority scared and even angry so they reacted in a horrible way.” 

“But Grandpa, why did Jesus go through all that pain and die on that cross when he didn’t have to? He could have gotten away from those mean people!” Elack wondered. 

Grandpa replied, “He chose to go through all of those horrible things and die so that we as people could be freed from the bad things that we do. When we disobey God’s commands, it’s called sin and leads to death. If Jesus hadn’t made that ultimate sacrifice of dying and rising again, we would have no way to be free from our sins.

When we ask Jesus to be in our life, he forgives us of our sins. Jesus is a friend that never leaves us, never treats us badly and always listens.

We will make mistakes in life but we can talk to Jesus any time day or night. He is always there for us, and loves us. If we have Jesus in our life, when the day comes that we die, we will go to heaven and live with him in a place where there are no bullies, disease or sadness.”

Both of the boys continued to ask their grandfather questions in between eating, leaving no food behind in their bowls.

After lunch, the three continued their project in the barn. This time the boys were excited to work on the cross and no longer longed for a different project.

Bit by bit the cross was assembled, and they applied stain to the cross to help it weather the elements. At last the cross was ready for display, just in time for Elian and Elack’s mom to arrive back from work. 

As the small blue sedan pulled into the long driveway, both boys waved, urging their mom to hurry as quickly as she could. “Mommy, come see the cross we made with Grandpa!” Elian exclaimed.

“Yeah, we are going to put it in the ground over by Grandpa’s house,” Elack continued. 

The four strode toward the barn where mom marveled at the fine workmanship.

“You did a great job boys!” Turning to her father, she remarked, “Thanks dad, what a great project!” Mom gave her father a hug along with the twin boys. 

The four carried the sturdy cross out to the yard, digging a hole amidst the thick green grass and placing it into its new home.

The four stood back and admired the beauty. “Grandpa, I’ve been thinking, I would like Jesus to be in my life.” Elack said.

“Yeah, me too grandpa,” Elian agreed.

Holding a tear back, Grandpa wiped his eyes with the red bandana he kept in his pocket and then smiled at both boys before leading them in prayer.

Follow after me boys, “Jesus, I believe you died on a cross for my sins, I believe that you are the savior of the world, I ask that you would be part of my life. Thank you for the sacrifice that you gave, dying on that cross and raising from the dead three days later. Amen.”

“Amen!” the boys echoed. 

As Elian and Elack grew older, each time they visited their grandfather’s home, the cross stood as a reminder to them. It was not only a reminder of the time spent with their grandfather, but also a reminder of that life changing day. It was a day they truly understood the message of Easter and all that it meant. Their lives would never be the same, all thanks to their Grandpa, and Jesus.