There are certain people who come into your life that you don’t realize just how big of an impact they had until they are gone. In my life, this special person would have to be my PeePaw. He is known to the rest of the world as Frank Fischer.

My earliest memories of him are when my family and I would travel to Arkansas to visit him and my grandma. Ever since I can remember I noticed that every time my PeePaw would meet someone new, or reconnect with an old one, he would hand them a business card. I thought this was odd because my grandpa was retired, and so I didn’t see his need for having a business card.

When I was about 6 or 7 and reading, he gave me one of his cards. The front read, “Frank J. Fischer” and the back read, “Romans 10:9-10:  (9) That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” At this age, I was unsure as to why he would put this on a card. As I started to pay attention in church more as I grew older, I became aware of the significance of this verse.

When I had reached my early teen years I would get embarrassed very easily if I was with my PeePaw when he handed out the cards. I’m sure it was because I never knew if I would know the person or not and maybe they would make fun of me if they thought what he was doing was “weird” or “stupid”.

When I was at church camp my senior year of high school I became a Christian, and was reading my Bible one night and came across Romans 10:9-10. It was highlighted in several different colors with a caption that said, “PeePaw’s verse”. It was then that I realized what my PeePaw had a heart for. He cared enough about everyone he met to share that gift of eternal life with them. He was so strong in his walk with God that people could say any negative comment about his “card” and my grandpa would just simply say, “I’ll pray for you and I hope you have a blessed day.” He never let any comment upset him in the least bit. At the end of the day he would always focus on the positive feedback he received from passing them out.

My grandparents eventually got to the point that they had to move into my parent’s house. My mom would have to print out at least 100 cards every couple of weeks for him. He never let anything stand in his way.

My PeePaw left my family and me last Christmas to be with Jesus, and I believe that heaven gained a true treasure that day. The family decided that at the funeral we would put a card in each of the funeral books that were given to all those in attendance. The front of the card now read, “In memory, Frank J. Fischer, March 10, 1920-December 5, 2008.” The back of the card with the verse on it remained unchanged. After the funeral and the days that followed we received an outpouring of letters, and verbal stories about how my grandpa and his “cards” affected them. These were stories about how his card was a wake-up call to them and brought them back to church, or how his card played a role in their becoming Christians. I am reminded on a regular basis about just how much love and kindness PeePaw showed as he passed his cards out. He was branching out way beyond his comfort zone to spread news so great that it should not be kept a secret.
 
I am ending with the lyrics to a song that my PeePaw would sing to me on a regular basis and one that I was fortunate enough to sing to him the last time I saw him a few days before he passed away……
“Let me call you sweetheart I’m in love with you, Let me hear you whisper that you love me too, Keep your love-lights growing in your eyes so blue, Let me call you sweetheart I’m in love with you!”

Sammie Jo
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