He was 1 of 14 children, and he was my father's father. I never met him, because he passed away less than a year before I knew of him. I was 14 when I heard his name for the first time in my life.
It was the one time I got to see Granddaddy after I was 4, and before he passed away. After Granddaddy had gone to bed, a conversation started that crushed my heart. I had no idea until that day of my family history on that side of my family, and it was then that I first heard his name, and learned, that he too, was my grandfather, biologically.
When that word is used in reference to a family member, we immediately recognize, that whatever the story may be, the word biological discloses the fact that there isn't much, if any, friendship or contact with that person. Since my mother had remarried when I was 8, I had learned to simplify explaining about my family by relying on that word, so that people would know if I was referring to the father that I had begun with in life, or the one that they most likely knew.
Now, I learned, I had a biological father, who also had a biological father. His name was Son Williams, and he passed away, 8 days before his 63rd birthday. That, too, felt heart crushing. I was met with having to process that Granddaddy was only related to me through his companionship with Grandmother, and in the same hour that I learned I had another grandfather, I learned I would never meet him.
It would be many years later, 32 to be exact, that my brother asked me one day, confident I would know the answer, "When is Son Williams' birthday?" and to my astonishment and his, I realized I didn't know and had not considered it until then. I began searching the internet, and found my answer, through a cousin who had delved deep into gathering family history and who was set on making connections with every branch of her family tree. Her father was my grandfather's younger brother. On her Facebook profile, she quipped, "I collect cousins" and I was delighted to be one of them! Through her, I learned my grandfather's dates of birth and death, and that he had one living sibling, my Aunt Jean, who I met twice before her passing.
There are some places in my family I have always known that I belong, and some relationships that have been steadfast from the beginning. There has also been a lot of uncertainty and not knowing if or where I belong. In this era of rearranged relationships, and fractured families, my experience is not unique.
We were created for steadfastness. We were designed for relationship and belonging. When the earth beneath us, where we long to find roots, instead is shifting, sometimes, routinely, or when we think we've finally found what home means, and the winds of change begin to blow yet again, and we no longer find ourselves sure of our relationships, it is good to know there is ONE who never changes. There is ONE who has known us before time began. There is ONE who will never leave us, who will never forsake us. On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. I will glory in my tribulations.
Before my father left, and I began to face the myriad of familial changes that awaited me, I had bound and pledged my whole heart for my whole life to the Only One whose love was secure, Who would be with me, to counsel me and comfort me, and cheer me, through every winding trail and trial, of this nature, and every other. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty GOD, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. I am His, and He is mine. For now, and forever. His steadfast love is everlasting, and is for you, too. His faithfulness reaches to the heavens, and endures to every generation. He never changes. You can rest your hope and find your peace in Him. He is our Rock. Steadfast. Forever. There is no greater joy in this life, and I am promised, and I am confident, in the one to come.
