Daily Devotional

On August 1st, my family celebrated my grandpa’s 92nd birthday. It was a good time spent at Yosemite Ranch as we looked to honor the life my grandpa lived. My grandpa was quite the character, talking to everyone he could come into contact with, just wanting to know them. He was an avid fan of sports, particularly any sports teams that had to do with LA. A big reason why I am an LA sports fan is because of my grandpa. The time with my grandpa was always well spent as we’d talk about sports and life. It was really sad for me when my grandpa passed away on Saturday, May 10th, 2025. It has now been a year and three months since my grandpa passed away from a tragic fall. In that time, though, God has restored something my grandpa used to say to me often when I was in elementary school and Junior High.

My grandpa used to always quote Psalm 118:24. Whenever I saw him, I used to ask him, “How are you doing, Grandpa? " and he’d quote Psalm 118:24 to say he was doing well. During my elementary and junior high years, those at times were not the best times in my life, but my grandpa was always there for me, reminding me that God is good even when it feels like everything is bad. When my grandpa passed away from a fall on Saturday, it was really hard to get the news that he had passed away, but I just remembered some of the sweetest moments with my grandpa were when he would quote Psalm 118:24 to remind me that everything will be ok because God is good and God is working everything towards His purposes to bring about something good in me.

It definitely would be easy to be angry at God over what happened to my grandpa, but I am thankful for all the good times I had with my grandpa while he was living. I’m thankful for all the times I was feeling down, and he and my grandma would pick me up from school and take me somewhere for a special treat. I’m thankful that I am a Rams, Dodgers, and Lakers fan and that I had many conversations about sports with my grandpa. I am thankful for all the lunches my grandparents would have with me to catch up and hear about what was going on in my life. I am thankful that my grandpa taught me to take an interest in the people around him, learn their names, and learn their stories. I am thankful for the encouragement my grandpa was to me in my faith.

Yes, it was hard to lose my grandpa on May 10th, 2025, but I am rejoicing that God let me experience a lot of time with grandpa and that one day I will be able to spend eternity with my grandpa in Heaven. Let us rejoice in what God is doing in our lives each day to give Him the glory, as He is sovereignly working everything together for His glory and for our good. Our God is good even when tragedy does strike us. Our lives are meant to be centered on who Jesus is and what He has done for us, and no matter what happens, we can trust that God is doing something wonderful in our time, even when things seem bad. Let us rejoice each day for what Jesus has done for us and what He is doing in our lives to conform us to live more like Him each day.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.