The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but it also tugs at the heart strings. We remember those who couldn't join us around the table and we are left with a bittersweet feeling in our hearts. No matter who they were in your family, they had a role and a piece of your heart. It hurts that they are gone and they aren't here to spend the holidays with you.

My family is pretty small, so we haven't had a whole lot of death in our family. However, there is one special man who is missed greatly every year. He was my grandpa, the great man I never got to meet. He died suddenly from a heart attack when he was merely 55. That was the day a huge piece of my grandma's heart tore apart from her. I am really close with my amazing grandma. She has been through hell and back, but that is besides the point. She has been so strong since he has passed. My mom had just found out that she was pregnant with her first child and what was their first grandchild. It was a sad day for all because he was a well known man around town; being the barber.

I always hear the best stories about him and how we would have loved him if we ever got to know him. That story that he would always play jokes on my dad when he was dating mom; where they put Tabasco sauce in his iced tea just to see if he'd be polite enough to drink it. Or the story where he had a rabbit eating his vegetables in his garden, he had done everything to get rid of it. However, the story ended with my dad pulling up in the driveway to see grandpa's rifle rolling with smoke as he walked around the garage. Of course he was laughing the whole way. There are stories of love, stories of fights that are now funny, or stories that pack in life lessons, whatever they are, my heart always tugs because I want nothing more than to have met this man.

Whenever grandma talks about him, there's a sadness that lingers. She has lived a long life without him, but when she married him she was hoping to grow old together. Grandma always told me a story of how in high school she had a crush on him, but apparently he never liked her. Well, somehow she hooked him and they got hitched right out of high school. The classic love story, the one where they moved to a new place together, sat down in their home and ate cheese and crackers because that's all they could afford at the time. The built a life together, a life of happiness, a life of hardships, and a life that was short, but not short in love.

I just wish I could have met him. I wish I could have had a special relationship with him. I pray that he is enjoying his time in heaven and is waiting for me to meet him. I hope that as he looks down on me, he is proud of the woman I have become. There's been times in my life that I secretly wished he was there to experience these life moments and events with me. To feel his embrace during hard times and during happy times. Unfortunately, life doesn't turn out in ways we ever imagined. I don't get to have these things with my grandpa, but I can hope one day to meet his soul and to know of the great things I've heard about him.

Grandma and mom always tell me I look like him. I have his smile, his eyes, and his sassy attitude. I love that! I love that I have a piece of him, even though I never met him. Isn't that weird how that works. It's not like I'm a reincarnation of him, however, I think it's like God planned for me to made to look a little like him and to act like him.

There's times were I feel like it isn't fair! That I never got to meet him. There are times where I cry because I wanted to be able to have memories of him! Memories I cherish myself, but life doesn't go as planned. It takes you on twists and turns you never expected to happen, but there is one thing we are sure of. That no matter what the outcome of our lives are, God is there with us. He is taking care of our loved ones who have gone before us. That He is keeping them by His side so we can one day meet them. I can't wait to meet my grandpa someday. So, God, please keep him safe for me. Okay?

Whatever story is told or memory that is shared, there is still tender spots in our hearts of those we miss everyday. Our hearts may be especially sad during the holidays as family are gathered around to share time and laughs together. That one person isn't there...that one person that you loved and shared moments together...that one person that was family. I found a poem that was appropriate for this topic, so I thought I would share.

The Empty Chair Christmas Poem

"Around the Christmas hearth this year there is an empty chair...
...And yet our hearts are hopeful, though the season’s bittersweet, Because we know the one we love has filled another seat.
For another banquet table abounds with joy and love for those who’ve made the journey to be with our Lord above.
This season, may you celebrate the Faith that is the heart of Christmas, the Hope that lies ahead in heaven, and the Love of those we hold in our arms and in our memories." ~Unknown

Reference- http://www.sympathysolutions.com/resources/poem/th...

No matter who it is that we are missing, I'm sure they are looking down on us smiling. They are able to see our happiness and our sorrows. I'm sure they want more than anything for us to share in moments of joy and laughter this year during the holidays. They don't want you to be sad for them. But sometimes our hearts are just missing that little piece of them. It's just not the same... I pray that you find it in your hearts to have joy again and to embrace your family and friends with fond memories and stories of past. I pray that you are able to reminisce with happiness. I pray that you know your family members are with you always in the memories that we carry with us.

Merry Christmas everyone! Especially to those family members in heaven. Take care of them up there for us God.