I wasn’t so sure about this post or even what to call it. But after journeying over to other blogs this one just kind of came together. I am privileged to be part of a family that really enjoys being together and I think it stems back to past generations and their commitment to each other. It is really a heritage that can be overwhelming, fun, humbling all at the same time. It also carries a responsibility to carry that on for future generations. I am not sure if that bit of rambling makes sense but for some reason I am finding it hard to get my thoughts on this one organized.
On February 8, I posted a blog on Legacy. Since that time I have read blog posts by other authors that speak to marriage, family and waiting for those things. There was a very common thread running through them all – love, commitment, and legacy.
One of the posts that I read was titled “A Letter to My Future Husband”. I found an author, on this blog, that is praying for a person she does not yet know; but that God is preparing for her to spend her life with. It was worded so beautifully and I was incredibly blessed by it. As a mom of three sons I have prayed for the women that the Lord was preparing my sons to meet and to marry and I continue to do so. It was awesome to see the other side of that prayer – a young woman praying for the man God was preparing for her. So far, my prayers have been answered abundantly, I have two amazing women I am proud to call my daughters-in-law.
The next post I read was “12 Things I Wish that I Knew About Marriage Before I Got Married”. Several good points were made by this author. I especially loved the one where she calls marriage a “long term investment” rather that hard work. What a great perspective on marriage! Don’t we all take great care to protect our investments? And isn’t that a great way to view our marriages? You could read the love this author had for her husband and the commitment she was making to her “long term investment”. Once again I was blessed and it has made me look at my marriage of 35 years in a different light. No more hard work here!!! I will be investing in my marriage.
I then ventured over to Rachel’s blog. The February 1 post was titled, “What I Learned in January and A Happy Birthday to Mom!” The author had a photo of her daughter in the wedding dress of the author’s mom. She was wishing her mom were still alive to share in their lives and for her to ask advice and just talk things over. It opened my eyes to the fact that many times I take my mom and my mom-in-law for granted. These two women have paved the way for me with their love and faith. They have spent countless hours feeding the family, raising children, loving husbands and praying for them. I am grateful for having my eyes re-opened to this truth.
All these posts reinforced that feeling of legacy for me….past, present and future. The legacy of grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren…….. generations extending both ways. I have posted the links to those blogs and I would encourage you to read them….they are an excellent read and I hope you will be as blessed by them as I was. All you need to do, to visit them; is click on the links at the end of this post.
Seeing the photo of the gal in her grandmother’s wedding dress made me remember that I have my grandma Scholten’s wedding dress. I went to a shelf in my closet and hauled out the box that held that dress. She was married in the 1920’s and my aunt had kept her dress, in a shoebox, when she passed away between my freshman and sophomore year of high school. Looking at that dress I was grateful she had been my grandma and yet I had regrets. I wished I had taken the time to sit down with her and ask her questions. As a teenager, I thought she was old, and never took the time to find out who she was as a person and get to really know her.
If I could go back; I would do things differently. I would love to ask her how she really felt when she left the Netherlands at the age of 19, boarded a ship, and sailed to America to join her brother in Chicago. How was the journey? How did she manage all that way by herself? How had she found the courage, as a “city girl” to raise 5 children as a young widow alone on a farm in Iowa? What did she think of my grandpa the first time she met him and how did she actually meet him? What was her favorite game as a young girl? So many things I will never know. I do know she missed her family back in the Netherlands as she spoke of them often and letters went back and forth. I know she had great respect for the royal family of the Netherlands and sent them cards of congratulations for weddings and births, I know she only drank her coffee or tea out of a porcelain cup. I know she knitted amazing wool mittens for all of us grandkids. Some of those things may not seem very important but to me they spoke of love, loyalty and faithfulness. I know she loved us even though she never said it with words. Her actions spoke her love for her.
At the end of the day it is important to know that we are loved, to know that faith will help us persevere through anything, and to know that faithfulness and commitment are a legacy to be shared, lived and passed on to those who come after.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering,
for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
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The Chicken Grandma 