Grandad’s Story

By Helen Jesze, 18^th November 2018

“Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon,”

Isaiah 55,7

Last weekend we celebrated when the Armistice was signed, 100 years ago, which brought World War I to an end. As I thought about these things, I remembered an incident in the life of my grandfather, which had a strong connection with the war.

Granddad Gabriel (my mother’s father) was saved and called by God into the Methodist ministry, but he became bitter through things that happened to him as a child, when his family was split up, also after seeing Japanese prison camps and other atrocities in the war, and backslid. Grandma went on with God and he put nothing in her way in her active service for the Lord, but he made it difficult in other ways.

For instance, he had an inner restlessness and could never stay long in one place, so they moved 35 times in their married life!! One reason was because Grandma was a teacher and children were often sent into the country during the war, away from the towns for safety, and she would go too. But the other reason was because Grandad was fighting God. He would come home and say: “Hetty, we’re moving next week!” Hetty might just have got the house decorated, the garden laid out and growing well, and then they would be uprooted again. My mother went to 14 schools because of this, and never had a friend when she was growing up.

But something happened which was to change the course of Grandad’s life. He was a baker and pastry cook working part of the time in the Merchant Navy, and one day went down into the hold of the ship, to fetch something from the freezing room. This giant deep-freeze had a special lock which was to be adjusted, to keep the door open. But Grandad thought he did not need to bother with that and just went inside. The ship rolled in the waves, the door banged to and he was shut in! Nobody knew he was there and he knew he could freeze to death. He started to lift the carcases of meat and boxes to get up a sweat, and cried out to God: “O God, if you will bring me out, I will serve you!” Just before he became unconscious, Grandad was found. I heard him give this testimony on a Sunday night at the church my Great-Aunt Nancy was pastoring, when I was nine years old. Tears rolled down his cheeks; it was too late to go into ministry but Grandad kept his vow and served the Lord for the rest of his life.