KATHLEEN CHAPELL | GUEST

Several years ago, I took my elderly mother on a road trip to a family reunion. I learned a lot during those four days of travel with her—about my mother, and about myself—but also about my heritage—my heritage through generations of believing mothers.

My mother, Audrey Roos Gabriel, was raised as a preacher’s kid and trained to be a nurse.  Along with Dad, she raised four kids, helped us with homework, drove us to innumerable music lessons, and taught us to love hymns and Jesus.

Her mother, my grandmother, Alice Hamilton Roos, was raised by a widowed mother and was a pastor’s wife for 30 years.  Widowed at 58, Grandma taught me about the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. “I was never afraid,” she would say.  “The Lord has always been faithful to me.”

Her mother, Melissa Gannaway Hamilton, was raised by a widowed father, married at 16, had ten children, taught Sunday School in the mountains of rural Tennessee, could recite whole chapters of Scripture and many whole Psalms by heart, and taught her children to love Jesus and depend on Him in hard times.

Her mother, Tirzah Ferguson Gannaway, who, when her young husband was conscripted into the Confederate Army during the Civil War, gathered up their three young children and newborn daughter, packed a few belongings and the family Bible, and walked through the forests and foothills of central Tennessee to her parents’ farm, seeking their protection. Tirzah didn’t live to see her children grow to adulthood, but all the family knows the story of how her husband fell in love with her because of her faith in God and her passionate love of the Scripture.

And there was HER mother: Eliza Craig Ferguson. Sadly, I know nothing more than her name and dates. No old photos, no family stories. But I think it’s clear she raised her daughter, Tirzah, to love the Lord, and I can surmise that she, too, loved Jesus as her Savior.”

He is My Inheritance

And so there you are—at least five generations of mothers teaching their children about God’s love, praying with and for them, and praying for the generations to come. And I am the next in line.  Bryan and I taught our kids about the grace of our Savior while they were growing up—prayed with them and for them—even as now they each pray for their children.

I am writing about this heritage because I am treasuring more and more the truth of that line from the old hymn, Be Thou My Vision: “Thou mine inheritance, now and always.” HE is my inheritance and has always been so.  His grace and mercy were mine long before I was born. There is a sweetness in understanding more and more how my own faith journey is a continuation of the Lord’s long story.

I know that not everyone reading this has that experience. Perhaps you are the first believer in your family line. Perhaps it seems your “faith family tree” begins with you.  But the Lord has always had His hand on you—has always planned for your place in His story.

When my favorite mystery writer, Agatha Christie, prepared to write one of her books, she first planned it from beginning to end.  She outlined the plot—choosing the characters, including the “bad guy” and the victim, and determined the how and where and when of the crime.  From the opening scene the plot unfolds, detail by detail, until finally, the detective unravels the mystery, and order is restored.  The reader might have been mystified, but the author knew the story from beginning to end.

This is a trivial analogy, I know.  But consider this: God is the author of His long story—the story of a loving God providing redemption for sinners—the story of a love so great that it overcomes “the bad guy.” He knew how it would all unfold.  And He knew, from the beginning, that in the end—in the end of this long story, God wins!

An Ancestry of Faith

God wins! And He has chosen His beloved children to be a part of this story, this “ancestry of faith.”  The pages of His Word tell us of His faithfulness to all generations—through hard times and in seasons of blessing. In Psalm 136, the Psalmist reviews Israel’s history, from creation, through the trials of the wilderness, and to their entry into the promised land.  And after each stanza of this powerful Psalm comes the response: “For His steadfast love endures forever.”  I delight to listen to this history lesson resounding through my earbuds as I do my morning walk, and I shamelessly call aloud the refrain with the saints of old: “For His steadfast love endures FOREVER!” And yes, I have gotten a few curious looks from other walkers….

As the amateur historian in our family, I urge you to talk with your parents and relatives; ask the questions and find out what your family history is. Learning about your ancestors—especially those in the faith—can be an exciting adventure.

But beyond any earthly story is the story God is writing in your heart and life—a story that He has always known, from beginning to end, and a story that will be complete when we see Him face to face.  You and I are part of that story.  “I was never afraid,” as my grandma always told me.  “The Lord has always been faithful to me.” Yes, we can repeat with the saints of old, and with great joy, “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever!”

 

Editor’s Note: You can find Kathy’s book, The Great Iowa Road Trip, here.

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash