Rachel Lucas over at rachellucas.com has a touching tribute to her grandfather who just passed away. I now have this huge lump in my throat. One of the agonies of growing older is seeing those older people in your life pass out of your life. There are truly no replacements, just holes where they once were. We try to ignore the holes and carry on, but sometimes we step in them and grief overcomes us. It is part of the human condition. It certainly makes us think we should take the time to treasure our friends and family while we have them. Even more, it makes real the promise of God that we will be together again and, this time, forever.