God’s Masterpiece

“Man have you ever seen anything as beautiful as a Tennessee night sky” she asks her grandpa. 

“Ya. I reckon the Montana night sky was better ‘an this. But this sure is purdy.” He whispers back. 

“Don’t you just love the sky? It’s like God’s greatest artwork. And it’s always different!” She exclaims. Breaking the quiet ambiance they had going. Grandpa laughs to himself quietly. He loves how his little granddaughter loves God the most. How she pursues the Almighty with a passion to rival his…. his beloved. God rest her soul. A tear appears in the corner of his left eye as he remembers her and slowly trails down his cheek as he remembers having almost the same conversation fifty years ago with his Gracie. 

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Long, wildly curly auburn hair and freckles dancing across her cheeks and bright blue eyes that blazed with an intellect that made you think twice. Her laugh was infectious as she giggled up at him as they laid on that ugly quilt Gracie worked so hard to sew. That woman had so many talents but sewing was not one of them. He recalled the dimple in her cheek as she smiled and how her adoration and attention made him feel alive for the first time every single time. 

He remembered how they were dutifully not talking about how he had been drafted and would be leaving the next day. How he was so scared she would be snatched up by someone else. That ring had burned a hole in his pocket for months. He had known since the moment he laid eyes on her that she was the one for him. The way she so actively pursued the Lord and her tenderness for children. He just knew she was the one. 

“Don’t you think it’s beautiful?!” Gracie said. “It’s like God has a canvas on rotation. Like He just constantly paints these beautiful skies! Day or night! God is a creator of masterpieces!”

“Yes He is” he said while staring at her. He remembered thinking that this woman was the greatest masterpiece of all. 

He remembered her looking up at the sky, those beautiful blue eyes full of wonderment as she took in the constellations and that moment was just perfect. If he were an artist he would have painted that moment ten thousand times. With a lump in his throat he got up, which startled Gracie out of her thoughts and she frowned at him. He chuckled as he got down on one knee and reveled as her eyes bulged out of her head when she realized what he was doing. 

“Gracie, my darling, you are the one for me. I’ve known it since the moment I met you. I love that you put the Lord first. I love that I feel like we are the only people on this planet when we’re together. I love you. Will you marry me?” His heart had been in his throat the whole time. Making his voice shake. 

“You are leaving tomorrow. I’ll give you your answer when you get back.” The determination in her eyes was frightening. 

His heart had fallen. He had thought that she did not want to be betrothed to him while he went to war. It would be years until he found out that she had wanted him to come home to her. That by not answering she would give him something to fight for. That maddening woman. He wrote to her every day. Told her of the training. Of the endless rain in monsoon season. He cried when he wrote of his friend committing suicide. 

When he came home he wasn’t the same man who had left. He had nightmares and anxiety and he rarely slept. Nowadays they call it ptsd. Back then there wasn’t much talk of it. She had loved him back to himself. On their wedding day he thought he would die from witnessing such beauty. She was a vision as she walked to him in ivory and her veil of lace trailing behind her. He was a man in love. 

Every night they would sit on the porch and talk about their day and their life together, about their dreams of children and what they’d name them. When Gracie became with child they were over the moon. And when she lost the baby they cried for months. Gracie lost four babies in their first six years of marriage. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong. 

He felt like he was losing her as he watched her barely eat. She was wasting away. 

So he bought an old rv from his friend and they packed up and went on a tour of the United States. They saw the night sky in every single continental state. And they made their baby on that trip. When they got back Gracie found out she was five months along and hadn’t known she was expecting. Four months later they welcomed their little James into the world. 

He grew up strong and smart and was everything they could have hoped for. Gracie was over the moon. 

When James was away at college they found out Gracie had cancer. It happened so fast. She was gone before he could even process the diagnosis. The love of his life was like a shooting star. She burned bright for their 30 years together and then in an instant she was gone. 

When they buried his Gracie a part of him went into the ground with her. That firecracker was his light, his hope, his soulmate. 

He came back to himself when tiny hands started wiping tears he hadn’t known he was crying away from his cheeks. 

“Don’t cry grandpa, it’s ok. Shhhh” his sweet little bean said. 

“Aw. I’m ok. Was just thinkin’ ‘bout yer grandma and me’s life together and how much she loved the stars too. You look just like her Grace…..” 

Grace looked up at him and grinned a toothless smile. Her dimples stuck out as her freckles danced across her cheek. 

“Say, how much did the tooth fairy give you for that front one?” 

“A whole dollar! Can you believe it?” Her giggle too, is infectious.  

“I can believe it.” Grandpa says as he hugs his Grace close as they look up at the stars.