Bible Study

July 2003

Pawpaw Knows Best
By Wendy Owens

My Pawpaw (Grandfather) has had a hard time of it lately. He broke his hip and has been in the hospital. That's not an unusual circumstance for a 91-year-old, but it was unusual for me because the 28 years I've known him, he's never needed help. He's always the one we've looked to for help.

As I watched him struggling down the hall with his walker, realized that I had never thought about him as old. I thought about how hard it must be to have such a young and vibrant spirit locked up inside a body that can no longer keep up.

I guess Pawpaw knew what I was thinking (he always does), and he got me to read to him from Galatians 5. He reminded me that our spirits are free in Christ, no matter what our outward circumstances may be. He said there are many things that can imprison us if we let them, but we can't let them because our freedom was bought at too great a price for us to take it lightly.

He reminded me that he was just as free to serve the Lord in the hospital as he was in the various places he might have been had he not broken his hip, and I could see that what he said was true. I had numerous nurses, therapists, aides, and even his roommate tell me how sweet and encouraging my Papaw was and how much they loved to see him each morning.

Papaw told me that as my life unfolds I'll have the opportunity at every turn to choose slavery or the freedom which is rightfully mine in Christ. He said his prayer for me is that I'll always choose freedom, even when it's hard, and even when it costs everything I have to hold onto it. As always happens when I'm around my Papaw, and I hope can happen for many years to come, I came away challenged, encouraged, and determined to be a better person.