How to Live out of Your History
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we went down to the small town of Groveton, Texas where I was able (with only minutes of daylight to spare) to locate my grandfather’s grave. I have been writing a paper on his ministry, his family, and the tragedy that took him from prominent roles of leadership in the church. It has been fascinating to peer into the heart and life of someone so close to me. Its one thing to study history, its quite another to find yourself wrapped up in it.
Placed next to my grandfather’s grave were my great-grandparents, Onan and Wilhelmina Willis. Next to them were Winslow and Hattie, my great-great grandparents. It was quite a surprise to see my family lineage placed right before me. An eerie stillness filled the air, and I found myself wondering what stories filled these graves below me. For one of the first times in my life, I wanted to know, to deeply KNOW the lives and hearts of those who had gone before me.
When Israelites read the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they found themselves mixed into the tale. I think the average American is not able to fully grasp this because they do not have a story or a lineage that they can link back to. It is that old frontier-spirit, finally rearing its ugly head. With all the excitement of this “brave new world” we have forgotten where we’ve come from, and now many of us are lost in the dense thicket of an identity crisis.
If you know who you are because of the stories that have been passed down to you and are planted deep within your heart, you are able to make decisions at crucial moments that grow out of who you truly ARE, rather just reacting to the first whimsical emotion that you might feel. It’s the art of dealing with the dangers of today with the assurance that “it has all happened before”. This is why mourners sing the old familiar songs at funerals. In this strange new day where a beloved has passed on, it is comforting and emboldening to hear the songs we have sung in the past when times were just as rough. THIS to, is our song. It’s the story that keeps us strong.
Know your story, but don’t just repeat it. No one likes a sequel that is so predictable that it falls right in line with the first. Let your heart interact with the story from which you emerge, but then dare to pick up the pen and scrawl out a brand new chapter. Find the themes you want to continue, and you want your successors to develop still further, and then get out there and live! Develop regular ways of returning to your story, continuing to hone in on exactly what it says about you; for without a story, you are history.
Jason, 
Ruben are discussing. 
miller 9:59 am on November 28, 2006 Permalink
mark,
wonderful! absolutely beautiful writing.
i wish i knew the stories of my ancestors…
unfortunately, that is not very available to me.
i wonder whether the isrealites really knew that much about the average joe…
peace
Mark 12:10 pm on November 28, 2006 Permalink
Well, they certainly had lists of names (I know! I’ve gotten bogged down by reading them – who made those part of God’s Holy Word, anyway!?). I hope that more people can find not only names and dates, but also STORIES to go along with them. It is what keeps us awake and alive to the world around us today. Thanks for your words Miller.
Jason 10:05 pm on April 19, 2008 Permalink
I don’t know you, but I know a lot of folks in your family. I knew your grandfather fairly well, and your great-grandparents (OJ anad Wilhelmina) were my surrogate grandparents for years. I loved them both as much as I loved many people of my own family.
One summer I spent a week building a fence with your grandfather and great-grandfather. Your grandfather was one of the smartest men I ever knew. Each day we would go back to the house around 11:30 where your great-grandmother would have lunch ready for us. We would dine “high on the hog” on peas, cornbread and beans, and then OJ would need to take a “short” nap (about an hour) before we went back to our fence building. Your grandfather would read the newspaper during this time. When he would come to stories on the Middle East he could tell how the place related to some Old Testament story. I was so impressed by what he knew.
You have a very rich family history.