by: Christina Morales
Every time I would visit my grandfather, he would tell me his life story in his thick Greek accent. As we shared the same comfy couch, he would take a trip back to a time when his dreams seemed possible, his future had no end, and life held promise like a crisp summer’s morning.
My grandfather came from Greece with the Merchant Marines when he was only 16 years old; that was in 1933. The way he tells it, “I worked in a hot dog stand, then I bought the hot dog stand. I saved my money, worked hard, and bought a restaurant. Then I bought a nightclub. In that time, that was the place to be.”
By the time he was in his forties, he seemed to have everything: a beautiful family, a nice house, and a successful business. As I look at the old black and white pictures, his eyes shine with pride. I see my dad when he was barely 12 years old in a worn white T-shirt and jeans with the cuffs rolled up. My grandma posed like a dutiful wife. My aunt and uncle stare back anxiously into the camera lens and I can almost hear their impatient voices wanting to run and play and not stand still for a family picture. They were living the American Dream and loving it.
Now, many years later, I see the pain in my grandfather’s eyes. All the hopes, dreams and possibilities that he once had have melted into the past. All that he worked for has disappeared and that which is left is bitter and stale.
The goal of my grandfather’s life was to make money. His lack of integrity and character has now caught up with him at the age of 87. The millions that he made have disintegrated into lawyers’ fees, bad investments and medical bills. Two of his three children despise him and want him only for the meager bank account he has left. The tighter he tries to hold on to what he has left, the more it slips through his fingers like grains of warm sand.
Jim Elliot, a missionary who gave his life to tell others about Christ, said “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Sometimes as a Christian I lose sight of what is important. I see the ads in magazines and the mansions on TV. I want the beauty and riches that seem to be beckoning me. But then I look at my grandfather. In the last chapter of his life, what has that gotten him? When I focus my eyes on the eye’s of God, that’s when I truly see where I am going. I may not have fame or riches in my lifetime, but what I have cannot be lost.
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