BFTJ - Aug 29 - The Companionship of the Dead
Our children unfortunately never knew their great-grandparents. Only my grandmother on my dad's side was still alive when our youngest were born. We have a wonderful picture of her, me, my father, and the newborns that we treasure as we have all four generations there. But in our living room we have these two pictures of great-grandparents that our children never knew but whose lives will impact theirs in ways that they may not realize. I love Nouwen's words, "Remembering them means letting their spirits inspire us in our daily lives. They can become part of our spiritual communities and gently help us as we make decisions on our journeys." They may not be physically with us any longer, but their lives continue to intersect our own. Stories are told, remembrances shared, lessons passed along.
I am thankful that our children have had the time with their grandparents (our parents) that they have had along with aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on - wonderful times at homes, on trips, and letters and emails back and forth. We are richly blessed to be part of a wonderful tapestry of families knitted together.
Scripture contains many genealogies that tell the story of who a person is and from where they come. Many of us just skip over those...skipping over the many begats after begats after begats. But when we dig a bit deeper, we discover the wealth of stories that make those begats come to live.
Today, I give many thanks for the family that has surrounded me, my wife, our children and who will continue to be a part of their lives long into the future.