Growing up we made yearly visits to my father’s family in Mississippi. His mother was one of the few members to have moved away from the area, so we were welcomed to the old home place by a multitude of great-aunts and uncles, and second cousins and their children. Aunt Hazel and Aunt Daisy still lived in the house where my great-grandparents had raised their 9 children and the house had not changed much in the intervening years. To say that it was simple is an understatement and it was my father who actually built them an indoor bathroom. Nestled deep in 600 wooded acres, it was the perfect playground for city kids.
My grandmother and her sisters would spend the evenings reminiscing about their own grandparents and cousins. We all sat on the front porch in the dark (no air conditioner!), and listened while they told stories about double first cousins, and their favorite uncle, Uncle Commodore. The names were so foreign to me and while my grandmother’s Mississippi accent had somehow been softened with her move to Texas, my great-aunts spoke with what seemed like a foreign tongue. I loved every minute of it!
What this experience did to me was to imprint such a deep impression about who I was. Though my maiden name was Laird, I learned the blood of the Davis, Case and Allred families flowed through me as well. I looked intently at the old family pictures on the walls, scrutinizing their features for ones that we shared. If we were stubborn it was understandable as that was a Davis trait. The piercing soprano of some of the females came from great-grandmother Allred. I have a picture of three sets of twins who were my great-grandfather’s cousins. So even though science tells me otherwise, it was used to explain the existence of me and my twin sister. “Twins skip three generations,” don’t you know?
I love celebrating the Advent season. As I work on the lessons for the children I reacquaint myself with the symbols for each story. Beginning with Creation we retell the stories of our faith leading to the birth of Jesus. These are my family stories too! And like any family, there are some skeletons I’d rather keep in the closet. It’s no surprise I doubt I have leadership ability, just look at Moses! But when I feel brave and convicted, it’s no wonder: Joshua’s on my family tree! Compassion? I got that from Jesus.
As we begin the hectic, whirlwind holiday season, take some time out to remember who you are. Share the stories of our faith with your children and grandchildren. Let the world have no doubt about where you came from!
“4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)
