March is always a special month for me. A few weeks ago, as St. Patrick’s Day approached, I was remembering my maternal grandfather. We always celebrated his birthday on this March 17th holiday. Grandpa is in heaven now – he has been gone for years, but I still missed him this month. The Scripture verse above is the basis for the Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer, which begins “I bind unto myself today / The strong Name of the Trinity…” I think of Grandpa whenever I hear that well-known prayer.

Grandpa was proud of his Scottish ancestors and especially proud of his Irish ancestors, even though he was generations removed from them. He could dance an Irish jig and imitate an Irish brogue as if he were fresh from Dublin. I was the oldest of nine grandchildren, and grandpa used to line us up and perform for us, his warm brown eyes twinkling as he danced around the room. We laughed and laughed as he used his arms while pretending to dance with an enormous woman and then a tiny one.

Grandpa was a man of deep faith who loved the Washington National Cathedral, with its soaring gothic spires, turrets, and gargoyles. He used to tell us, “The cathedral won’t be finished in my lifetime, but it will be in yours.” He practiced law, but he had also learned some magic tricks, and could pull quarters out of our ears.

What would grandpa want me to do now? How could l honor him? “Remember me, don’t be sad,” I can almost hear him say. So, this past March 17th, I put on my green sweater. Then I went to my attic, where I had St. Patrick’s Day decorations. I hung a wire strip of green wooden shamrocks on my front door. On the mantel, I placed a little green top hat – the kind that a spritely leprechaun might wear. Finally, I placed an Irish blessing card, which read, “May your laughs be many and your heart be light.”

As I made my house hospitable for happy memories of Grandpa, my heart did feel much, much lighter. I knew that God wanted us to remember those we loved in this life and cherish our memories of them; in this way, they would never leave us.

God bless you!

Peggy