My Heritage

Abbie came home from school the other day with questions about her ancestry. Philip had it easy, as he comes from a "pure bread" German/Prussian Mennonite heritage. I'm more of a "mixed breed". :) And though I could remember some of my ancestry, most of it was sketchy. But my Grandpa had a passion for genealogy & spent countless hours researching. It is because of him that I can explain what "third cousin once removed" means. At one point I remembered getting a stack of charts and statistics. I promptly filed them away without giving them much thought. But yesterday, I went searching.

Phil laughed at me while I studied the papers, saying Grandpa would be so proud that I was spending time on this, and confident that none of my cousins would be! But mixed in with great-great-grandparents, and birth dates, and marriages...I found something precious. A story. A timeline of my Grandpa's life. It wasn't anything fancy. It was a simple story full of facts & dates, but in between the lines, I saw something beautiful...

My Grandpa became a Christian at 18, just four months after hearing the message of salvation for the first time. Early on, God placed a passion for missions in his heart. At 21, he married my Grandma. By 26, they had finished their Bible degrees, been accepted by a mission agency, and were anticipating serving in South Africa. In the midst of pursuing his dream, his family grew...by four. Life must have been incredibly busy. He was installing furnaces, involved in church ministry, raising support to go oversees, and parenting an 8, 6, 3, & 1 year old. In the summer of 1955, my Grandma contracted polio. Because of her health, and a risky pregnancy 3 years later, my Grandpa's dream of becoming a missionary became impossible. I sometimes wonder if he was disappointed, disillusioned.

This week I have been studying the life of Joseph. Joseph was stuck in prison for 13 years, after being sold by his brothers, and then falsely accused by his boss' wife. It must have been incredibly frustrating to be living in those circumstances without the hope that life could change. And even after helping Pharaoh's cup bearer, he was again forgotten & in prison for another 2 years. But despite what may have seemed like a bleak future from his perspective, Joseph continued to be faithful in whatever he did. And in the end, when he faced the people who had in effect "set the ball rolling", he told his brothers, "...it was not you who sent me here, but God."

My Grandpa did not live a glamorous life. He lived and he worked hard. But more than that, he was faithful. He was faithful to his wife for 42 years. He was faithful in praying for his children & grandchildren. He faithfully served on Missions Committees. He was faithful in serving God right where he was. And God rewarded his faithfulness, as three of his children went on to serve oversees as missionaries.

I never heard him complain that his life hadn't turned out the way he planned. I saw him trust God with His plan.

It is a heritage I hope I will pass down to my children.