When I was born in 1978, my parents named me Jacob Roy Broten.  My middle name was given in honor of my grandfather, Roy Axel Nelson.  This past Tuesday, at 81 years old, my grandfather went to be with Jesus.  Though it is never easy to say goodbye to someone you love, respect, and have so many memories with, I am happy that he has shed the shackles of Alzheimer’s and so many other daily ailments that remind us of the weight of sin and the temporal nature of this earth and these bodies.

Because we were in Egypt, I was able to quickly arrange for a flight and travel back to be with my family.  It was an honor to have Grandma and the family ask me to officiate the memorial service and share a message in Grandpa’s memory.  Each one of us have God-ordained blessings that have contributed to who we are today.  Some of them we can name easily and others we may not be as aware of.  My Grandpa is one of those easy ones to name.  In the next several days, I would like to tell you a little about him by sharing the memorial message I wrote, beginning in this post with the introduction.  Thanks for those of you who take the time to read about him.

Roy Nelson was my grandfather, and I am honored to share about his life as we gather here today.  The writer of Hebrews states in chapter 13:

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7)

There is a growing tendency in our culture to look down upon those who have gone before us. We don’t give them the time of day.  We don’t seek their counsel in our affairs or observe how they conduct themselves.  We figure we already know it all.  But, our LORD says it shouldn’t be this way.  There is a wealth of wisdom and experience in those who have walked before us and we would be wise to consider the results of their demeanor and imitate their faith.

I want to reflect on five attributes I saw in my grandpa that I want to imitate in my life.  I have listened to his children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and many others testify to these traits and I want to hold them up for your consideration; that you might emulate them in your lives.

I’ll share those attributes, along with some pictures in the coming days.  Here is our family with Grandpa and Grandma in November 2009, one of the last times we shared together: