"I'm going to take a risk and tell you some things about me. In December (1996), I worked on a retreat called Teens Encounter Christ . One of my thoughts before the retreat was that I was in the 'Grampa mode' of life - in part because of Polly and Dan's Dalton but also because of some other things that were going on in my life. Some of my thoughts were of shutting down on some of the activities that were dear to me. I was getting the idea that other people wanted me to quit doing them because it was taking time away from what they thought that I should be doing. Even some things happened on the retreat that sort of confirmed to me that I was in the 'Grampa mode.'"

"The retreat was a fantastic one for me - one of the best that I have recently worked on. After the retreat, I got a letter from one of the young ladies who worked with me on the retreat. She said that as she was riding home with two of the directors and another young lady that they were talking about me. They decided that I was like an uncle to them and they decided to call me Uncle Dave - not the Grampa Dave that I thought that I was."

"My question after that was, 'What is an uncle supposed to do?' Now I suppose that's a strange question for me to ask after having been an 'uncle' for so many years already. So I thought that I should do what I did on the retreat for the young people there."

"There was a sort of theme song shared on the retreat that was really special for me. It touched my heart. It was titled 'I'll Stand By You.' I don't even know who sang the song but its words spoke about someone standing by another no matter what the other said or did. This CD that I am sending to you is the only CD/cassette that I could find in Mankato with a song of that title on it. Because this CD is 'your gift' to open, my hope is that this is the song that I heard. As you listen to the words of the song, imagine that I (as an 'uncle from the retreat') speak its words to you ..."

- Letter #1, Letters to Sarah, from God, A Gift of Love, © 1998 by Dave Grams. Used by permission
Uncle Dave
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