Gratitude

Craig Groeschel wrote a post on Swerve today on Gratitude. He said we are who we are and where we are today because of the people God has put in our lives. Read full post here.

Over the next few days I am going to write about a few of the people, places and events that have influenced my life. So in no particular order.

William Wood Whyte

William is a very popular name in my extended family. It goes back to my Grandad or Didie as we say in Scotland. I was named after him and as I grew up we formed a strong friendship. Coming from a fishing community most of the men were away all week including my dad . So like many other kids from the village grandads played an important male role in our lives because they were just around.

Didie lived just 3 houses away so we saw allot of each other. Even in his old age he was an imposing man but quiet. I only ever saw him loose his temper once. He introduced me to my other love in life football - namely Aberdeen FC. I went to my first live football match with him and we watched many TV games together shouting at the telly.

I listened to countless stories about what happened to him during the war. My favourite being the one which he won the DSM. His ship Firefly was in Grantham when an air raid took place. He manned the main gun till the ship was hit. Although my favourite story it was clear that it was not a happy story for him. He lost many friends that day. On a visit to Edinburgh I tracked down the graves of some of the men who died that day from the Firefly and brought him home a photo. That was the one and only time I ever saw him cry.

Sadly he died when I was only 13 but his influence in my life was huge. He always encouraged me in everything I did. He always accepted me. He would gently correct me. Although now over 30 years since he passed away he is very often in my mind.

I am so privileged that God place Didie in my life.