I have been thinking much about life and the way things inevitably end up... with the demise of our mortal into the immortal and while this is a glorious Gospel, the loss of life- while we remain on this earth- is pretty tough.
I was truly saddened by the passing of President Faust because he was such a good man and in particular, the last talk he gave, seated during its delivery, touched me so. Forgiveness and the example of the Pennsylvanian amish and the example we should all take from that continues to prick my intellect and cause me to look within my own soul and at the things in my life I consider wrong-doings at my expense.
As I thought of this, suddenly there came another sadness to my experience. My phone beeped Saturday afternoon with the alert of a text message, voice mail and a missed call. All from my grandfather- with the simple request for me to call him back. He found out last week he has kidney and lung cancer and today, he has the biopsy to determine the exact nature of the cells that are infesting him internally. Isnt it wierd that cancer simply originates as one person's own cell getting all messed up with the cell cycle and dividing uncontrollably and this division can be deadly... it is mind-boggling really. The more sinister of these cells upregulate genes that destroy other cells, the more kind however, just are content to make a mass that is removable with surgery.
IT is my prayer that my grandfather has more years on this earth. He has had a really rough past 10 years or so in terms of family for reasons partially of his own transgressions, partly because of haughtiness of others... but he was the one person in my family that believed in me, supported me, and built me up.
I was adopted by my grandparents when I was 14 after being in foster care for years, and after totally imploding and keeping to myself, within a year, I was flourishing- mostly thanks to the support and love of my grandpa- Gerald Hart. He was at every track meet, basketball game, geek competition, pageant, marine corps event... and he truly believed I could do anything I wanted and his faith was enough for me to persue it- without it, I would have not had enough faith in myself to even try many of the things I have done in my life.
Please keep him in your prayers...
Time to listen to the funeral of President Faust...
Love,
Crystal
HISTORY
A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.
From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.
In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.
Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.
Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.
We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.
As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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7 comments:
crystal,
thanks for your thoughts. we will pray for your grandpa, and put his name on the prayer roll at the temple. i am so grateful for the atonement, and know because of it, repentance and change is possible for every single person on this earth. it really is amazing what a difference one person can make in anothers life. i am grateful for the influence he had on you, and the resultant person you have become. love, debby
crystal, i learned so much about you in this one blog entry. (among the least of them...marine corps?) thank you for letting us know about your grandpa. what a blessing that he was able to step in and help you through such an important time of your life. i will be praying for him, and for you.
Crystal, you and your grandpa are in my thoughts and prayers. Being a "savior" of sorts for you, whatever the immediate future brings him, I'm sure the Lord will reward your grandpa generously for his goodness and kindness.
And although it's true that the atonement doesn't remove all of the pain that accompanies the physical separation of death, we are so blessed to know that it's only temporary.
I love you and am looking forward to seeing you next week.
Thanks guys, my grandfather is a good man for sure. I will hopefully hear by the end of the week what the biopsy results turned out... thank goodness he is not going to a VA hospital (despite being retired Navy) so the analysis should be pretty speedy. He lives in Seattle, so that is like another world away, but hopefully those who care about him will have an opportunity to get things straight with him...
As for the Marine Corps-- yep, I joined as a weekend marine through high school and then full time after graduation when I was barely 17 and was discharged when I was 18 and a half.
Anyway. Thank you so much... more trauma on the way, I am no longer getting a PhD, I am demoted to MS status since I could not finish my thesis and work 12 hours a day this summer. Sigh... but things work out, despite all that, I still have both my MBC and JMU jobs.
Happy Birthday, Lori,
I have no idea whether this will go out or not, but here goes. It was wonderful seeing you and Colin and the rest of the gang in Mexico. You are constantly in our prayers and we know that all will be well with you. Tell your mom and dad how wonderful a mission is and I envy them this great adventure.
We love you,
Grandma and Grandpa
After reading your blog, I'm humbled that the Lord chose to bless me with you and Valerie. I honestly don't know what I did right to have been given you and to be loved by you.
You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me Crystal. I want you to always remember this. I love you!
Matt
wow crystal, i'm sorry. it's so fortunate for us to know that life doesn't end here. i can't imagine how devestating it would be to lose anyone close...we're so blessed. and we're blessed that you are a part of this family. i'll keep your grandpa in my prayers. (and just wondering, is he related to anyone in downey idaho? my best friend from elementary school/junior high's grandparents are Hart also.)
love,
dana
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