Grandpa was like Clockwork

Read Time / 2 Minutes

Theme / Financial Planning

Like the sun rising in the morning, I knew what my grandfather would do.  There were no surprises when our extended family would gather around our grandparent’s dining room table for a holiday meal, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.  While we held hands around the table, which was filled with all the traditional holiday trimmings, my Grandfather would pray.  But what happened next is etched in my mind.

After praying – like clockwork – my grandfather would lead us in singing the doxology.  “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”  I could not carry a tune, but I sang joyfully as my eyes scanned the blessings on the table.  

Those holiday meals were a thing of beauty.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach, but I tried to do my part.  Holiday meals were hearty but were always preceded by prayer and the doxology.  My grandparents knew that physical health and spiritual health were important, just as we read in 3 John 1:2, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 

One way to take care of our physical health today is through a Health Savings Account.  An HSA is a tax-free blessing: you fund it with pre-tax dollars, it grows tax-free, and you spend it tax-free (health-related).  If you are headed toward retirement, a strategic move is to invest heavily in an HSA to prepare for health care needs as we age.  Just as I knew what to expect from my grandfather, we know what to expect with an HSA. 

The doxology flowed naturally from who my grandfather was and what he believed.  He left this earth many years ago, but I can almost hear him singing from above: “Praise God from who all blessings flow…”

Doug Hanson, MBA

Wealth Advisor

208.697.3699

Doug@christianwm.com