Embracing My Heritage and Leaving a Legacy

Heritage and Legacy...

Heritage- Something passed down from preceding generations; a tradition. (The American Heritage College Dictionary)

Legacy- Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past. (The American Heritage College Dictionary)

This weekend my dad's side of the family had a three day reunion. Unfortunately, my family was only there for the Sunday morning service. Yes, my family has their own sunday morning service during a reunion. In fact, I can't remeber a family reunion that didn't include scripture reading, and this was the first time we've had a reunion that lasted through a Sunday morning.

Well, my dad was asked to preach for our family this beautiful Sunday morning. He preached on a family heritage and the obligation of the parents to pass God's truth on to their kids. Deuteronomy chapter six is the scripture reference he preached from. In verse seven, the hebrew people were told to talk about the commandments with their children-"when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up". God wanted his people to remember what He did for them. However, He not only wanted them to remember, but to also pass it down to the generations after them that He may recieve the glory.

I am happy to say that my family has done an excellent job of leaving a Godly heritage. I was sitting in the sweet OLD little chapel in Indian Springs thinking how blessed I am. I have truly been left a Heritage worth embracing. I believe it was our last family reunion that we were told a story about my great grandparents that I had never been told. Now, I will never forget it. I learned that day that my great grandparents had been praying for their future generations long before we were born. They prayed that a Godly heritage would be passed down to each of us who would come after them. They wanted God first in their family. But this Godly heritage would have to start with them. They had to leave a legacy. It was up to them to make sure their children knew Jesus. You better believe they did. They taught my granddaddy; my granddaddy taught my daddy; and my daddy taught me!

Now, it's up to me. I have been handed this Godly heritage and I have to choose what to do with it. Do I forget everything I have been taught, or do I leave a legacy for my own children. I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm leaving a legacy! My children will know from conception the amazing Grace I have found and the amazing God I serve who so freely gives it. I will begin now to pray for my future generations. I want to be old and gray sitting once again in a little old chapel. This time I want to be surrounded by my kids and grandkids- kids that I was on my knees for long before they were even conceived; kids that are leaving a Godly heritage for their future generations.

You see, a Heritage or Legacy is like a ripple effect. As long as each generation passes the truth, the heritage lives on. I don't want the Adams' family legacy to end with my generation, but that's up to us. We choose. Do we pass the truth to our kids or do we forget? I pray my generation understands the importance of God in family. My family would not be what it is without Him.

Some of you may have Godly heritage in your family and that's okay. You can be the first to pass it on. What a priviledge! Don't let your future generations miss out on what you missed out on. You choose!

I'm leaving a legacy...How 'bout you?

Embracing My Heritage and Leaving a Legacy,

Jennifer