The things they gave me.
gratitude for my ancestors.
Thought
I cried today. I was driving alone listening to Evergreen by Pentatonix, and suddenly my heart filled with so much gratitude for my ancestors; all those who came before and made my life possible.
I am susceptible to believing that all the accomplishments, goodness, and successes are due to my own work, ingenuity, and effort. Whilst it is true that each individual plays an integral role in the outcomes of their individual lives, it is equally true that we warm our hands by fires we did not start, drink from wells we did not dig, and build on foundations we did not lay.
It has been easy at times to slip into ingratitude and blame the foibles and failings of parents, grandparents and ancestors for the perceived injustices and hardships of my life. And whilst I am the recipient, and product in some ways, of the choices my ancestors made, my focusing on these only blinds me to all the good, and imprisons me by forsaking accountability.
We cannot change the life we are born into, but we do get to take the good and glowing embers and reignite them into roaring fires our posterity may enjoy after we too have gone the way of all our ancestors.
So today I said a prayer of gratitude as I drove along WV State Highway 2. Especially for my Mother Belinda, Grandma Doreen, and Grandfather Royston for whom I am named, most especially for living and teaching me the gospel of Jesus Christ. These three were the first in my family tree, who upon hearing the truth, chose to cast down their figurative nets and follow Jesus Christ.
Their faith and fortitude has done so much for me! They laid a foundation of faith upon which I have been able to build my own life. I am guilty of frequently forgetting this but today I remembered. God be thanked for the gift of grandparents and a mother who heard, believed, and followed.
Quote.
I am very doubtful whether history shows us one example of a man who, having stepped outside traditional morality and attained power, has used that power benevolently.
- C.S. Lewis (The Abolition of Man, p.49)
Idea.
Tonight I lit candles with our children and taught them to just be still and quiet whilst doing nothing more than watching the flickering light. So often we fail to just be still, and the result is that we rarely find peace. Find a moment of stillness today.