Grandparents are Special. The link from past generations to the generation of today is made tangible in the the relationship between Grandparent and Grandchild. The passing of knowledge, love, experience, tradition, and in particular the family name is especially unique in this age old exchange. In a world where it seems the focus in everything is to document, photograph, and video to capture the moment, we often times miss the sweet nuances of the moment itself. We are too distracted with memorizing it, in stead of letting it wash over us and take it for all that it has to offer. This perspective is especially relevant when you consider the obvious, yet unknown limited window of time between the Grandparent and the Grandchild. Then one day that changes...forever and we are left with the memory of that time. Sometimes we are so lucky to have a moment where memory intersects with the material and a legacy is sealed in that moment in time. Memorialized by the material. That is exactly what happened when Judah Kahle, a 6th generation GermanAmerican, gave some serious assistance to his Grandpa (G-Pop) as he helped nail down some wood flooring in the coffee shop of Tim Kahle (son of G-Pop, Pappa to Judah). 9 Pieces in from the west door on the left side of the cross run, it happened. A moment sealed in time and will forever be true. At that moment, in that spot, a special exchange took place whereby G-Pop guided the 3 year old hand of Judah to the trigger of the staple gun and it fired a staple into the edge of the Tongue and Groove Red Oak flooring securing it for generations to come. Nothing can change or taint the sweetness of that moment when generations pass on a legacy in a single moment. Wood floors tell a story. It’s part of the beauty. The more worn, the more the history, the more the legacy that they leave to remind the next generation. This will be the case of this floor in Communion Coffee Shop. Hand milled on site with #3 red oak (historically the outcast of the flooring grades and rarely selected to use). This wood that is typically discarded found not only a place to serve its intended purpose, but has become a testimony to the great exchange God has given us in passing down of our legacy from one generation to the next. I hope this National Grandparents day reminds you of the gift it is to have even a brief moment in the physical, tangible, and historical passing on of family legacy. Count your blessing, there is no replacement for the sweetness of this exchange.
