Don't Be Afraid

My Grandfather passed away over the weekend and he leaves behind a woman he was married to for over 60 years. They were an inseparable couple.....this has got to be one of the hardest things that my Grandmother has ever had to do.

I could sit here and talk about the many attributes of my grandfather and then move on to the various ways that he has had a positive influence on my life. I am choosing to keep those thoughts private at this time and allow myself to enjoy and relish what a wonderful man he was and continues to be.

There is one gift that my grandfather gave me which I would like to share with all of you. It is actually a quote lifted from a letter that was sent to me while in flight school.

"Don't Be Afraid."

That was it. A simple quote that has engrained itself into my memory. It came in a letter that was primarily written by my grandmother stating how proud they were of what I was doing and that they hoped all was well down in Florida. As was his custom my grandfather would always sign his own name at the bottom and then add a little comment. This time the comment was:

"Don't Be Afraid."

It has stuck with me all of these years because it can be used in many different situations. I have called upon this comment while trying to land a plane that was on fire, dealing with the death of my daughter, choosing whether or not to change jobs, and now coming to terms with my grandfather's death. It is so simple and yet transcends over many different emotional and figurative levels.

All of us deal with fear every day. It can be paralyzing in some instances and other times it can drive us to be successful. There are moments where we look out into the future and shudder with fright at what might be out there. There are other moments that because of what has happened in the past the strong grip of fear reaches up and prevents us from moving forward. There are small fears, big fears, wide fears, narrow fears and a bunch of fears that lie in between.

Fear can control our lives and without the ability to see past our own inhibitions than we will never maximize who we are truly supposed to be.

My grandfather understood that.

He used to tell the story of standing on a troop transport ship hundreds of miles off the coast of Japan during World War II. He was part of a massive invasion force that was going to attack mainland Japan in an attempt to end the war. He told of knowing that his death was nearly imminent since the predictions were dire for those making the initial attack and that even though he was afraid that he was prepared to die if needed. There was pride in his voice whenever he told that story and I remember from a very young age understanding the idea behind sacrifice and death.

"Don't Be Afraid."

This was not a quote telling me to never have fear in my life. This was a quote telling me to acknowledge when you are afraid and then move past it. This is a quote telling all of us that when we are staring fear in the face that we have two decisions:

1. Allow fear to drive us in the direction that it wants us to go
or
2. Recognize that fear is merely an emotion that is rooted within our own minds and move forward towards what we know to be true.

My grandfather was a great man and my grandmother is a great woman. They took this world by storm and have never allowed it to dictate who they must be. When I look in the mirror I am beginning to see that many of my attributes are a direct result of who my grandfather was and I carry a great deal of pride with that.

To my grandmother: "Don't Be Afraid"
To my mother: "Don't Be Afraid"
To my uncles: "Don't Be Afraid"
To the world: "Don't Be Afraid"

To my grandfather: Fear not......God has come to take you home.

I'll see you again......take care of my little one and let her know I love her.......

Love,
Tex