Grampa Dan

This is my Grampa. I miss him. I think of him often. Especially around this time of year. He would be celebrating his 92nd birthday next month. This picture is one of my favorites. In fact, I placed a copy of this picture in his casket as I said my final goodbye to him 9 years ago. I loved him. I still do. I loved that I could be myself around him. I didn't have to pretend to be someone I was not. He loved me. I was Katie Brooke, the "big one." (Nearing old age he would forget which grandchild I was. He knew I belonged to my mom but would forget if I was Ashely or Katie, hence I was the "big one" because I was the oldest.) I dream about my Grampa from time to time. Last night was one of those times, but this time something stood out to me:

In my dream, I was driving in my car with my family. We must have been headed towards his house because we stopped at the Smiths gas station near his home. When I got there most of my extended family was there. Probably all of them but I just didn't see them all. I pulled up and Grampa came to greet us. He insisted that we needed to fill our gas tank full. I told him that we were only low by nearly a quarter of a tank, but he kept on insisting that our tank needed to be filled all the way. I let him fill our tank and then got out of the car to visit with him and see the rest of the family who was gathered there.

I don't know if there is any significance to this dream. I could take it as a remembrance of who he was and the love he had for his children and grandchildren, always wanting us to be prepared and not wanting us to be without. It could be a warning to make sure that my temporal needs are ready for trouble that could be in store. I think more than that though, it was a reminder to me that we always need to be full spiritually. We don't know when the Lord will require us to stand up for what is right, especially when everyone and everything around us tells us that no one will listen. Times are tough. The world is becoming more and more wicked. Never before may it be more important for us to be filled full with a burning testimony of our Savior and His gospel. A testimony that will help us stand alone, if needed, to fight against the evils of this world. I hope I can do more to fill my spiritual tank and help my children to fill theirs as well.

...can you?