the life and times of one of the greatest

my first memory of grandpa peterson is fishing.

fishing at white lake next to salmon arm. i have a vivid memory, being out in the boat. i leaned over and looked into the water. it was clear as can be. you could see all the way to the bottom, and i thought it was the most amazing thing ever. you could see the fish swimming beneath you and you could watch as they took your hook. i remember grandpa helping me reel the fish in because i wasn't strong enough. i laughed so hard and was so excited to see the fish come out of the water. as we pulled the boat back onto the trailer, there was a dead turtle in the middle of the road that had been run over. i got really sad because i hate death. i remember grandpa giving me a hug and telling me it was okay. i don't remember the words, but i remember with grandpa, everything seemed like it was going to be okay.

all my memories of grandpa were like that. whether it was gopher hunting, feeding the squirrels, helping him build his trailer, taking apart old computers, or going to mcdonald's, you always felt like you meant the world to him. you felt like you were the most important person in the world at that very moment. i know his favorite story he liked to tell about me was when i was a small boy, he came to visit us at silver creek in salmon arm. as he pulled out of the drive way to leave, i ran to my room crying my eyes out. when mom asked what was wrong, i said "i already miss grandpa!!!" grandpa peterson meant the world to me. he modeled to me what it meant to love family with all your heart. it didn't matter how tired he was, or how sore he got, or how old he got, he always took you on an adventure. 

i loved his passion for learning as i grew older. i remember finding out that one of his favorite movies was "Bowling for Columbine". love or hate michael moore, that movie brings up important issues that touch us all deeply and grandpa cared about the world in this way. i loved listening to him talk about issues that affected the world. jason bandura said that before he even knew him, he had heard that him and grandma had done regular mission trips to africa, and it had impacted him to see someone in their older age give their life so freely for the good of Christ and the world. it did the same for me. what kind of man does that? most grow old and settle into a comfortable life of retirement. but not my grandparents. they gave themselves for the good of the world. 

i have another vivid memory of grandpa. i think it was christmas about 4 years ago. most of the peterson clan had gathered at grandma and grandpa's house in weyburn, and we decided to have a serious devotional and talk about our lives. so we all gathered in the living room in a large circle. we were led in a devotional that i remember nothing about. after, we started sharing things about our lives that were important and the mood was melancholy. some were crying as they talked. grandpa wouldn't stand for that! he brought out joke after joke in a beautiful fashion that only my grandpa can! you could tell the mood was a little awkward because we all felt the need to be serious. but grandpa hated for us to be so sad. and so he spent about 20 minutes cracking one liners until we all lightened up and started enjoying ourselves. 

that was my grandpa. a beautiful man. a beautiful mind. a beautiful life. 

i will miss you grandpa. thank you for giving your life to something bigger than yourself and teaching me how to be a bigger person.