Personal news: I’m a great-grandmother!

 

Our oldest grandchild just gave birth to little T.T., making my husband and me great-grandparents! His birth has been a joyous event for this big family. We’re all celebrating.

 

And once again I am convinced that we—you and I—must share our stories with our families.

 

Tell me: Did you know your great-grandparents? Mine died before I was born.

 

If you never knew your great-grandparents, perhaps, like me, you have many questions—about their personalities, talents, experiences, values.

 

I’m also very curious: Am I shy like one of them? Am I afraid of something that one of them also feared? Is my dry sense of humor like theirs? Do I look like one of them, speak like one of them, think, love, or giggle like one of them? Do I instinctively treasure something one of them also treasured?

 

Maybe, like me, you wonder: If they’d have known me, would they have loved me? Would we have enjoyed each other? What activities would we have done together? What would they have taught me?

 

Did they love and serve God? If so, how did that impact the ways they chose to live?

 

What stories about themselves and their ancestors would they have told me? What adventures did they have, what challenges, what heartaches? What failures, what successes? What obstacles did they overcome?

 

And this is so important: If I had known their stories, what lessons would they have taught me?

• How would I have lived my life differently?
• Would I have avoided certain mistakes?
• Thought differently?
• Sought different goals?
• Chosen a different profession?
• Been a kinder person?
• A better spouse?
• Parented my children differently?
• Had a stronger faith and commitment to God?

There’s a reason Jesus said, “Go, tell your family everything God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Write your stories for your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. It’s the most important job in the world. (Be sure to click on that link.)

 

Include humor, mystery, romance, pets, childhood escapades, teenage pranks, athletic competitions, parenthood, hard work—the list could go on and on.

 

Always examine each account, connect the dots,

and explain what God was doing through them all,

often behind the scenes.

 

If you’re about my age, you realize you might not live on this earth much longer.

 

“We will all die one day. That is one of the few things we can be sure of,” Henri Nouwen wrote.

 

“But will we die well? That is less certain,” Nouwen continued.

 

“Dying well means . . . making our lives fruitful for those we leave behind. The big question . . . is . . . ‘How can I prepare myself for my death so that my life can continue to bear fruit in the generations that will follow me?’ . . . .

 

“Dying can become our greatest gift if we prepare ourselves to die well.” (Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey)

 

Prepare yourself for your death

by writing your stories.

 

Teach your kids, grandkids, and great-grands about keeping a commitment, working hard, being kind and honest. 

Teach them about God.

 

Inspire them to handle tragedies with tenacity and faith.

 

Help them choose courage over fear, generosity over stinginess, integrity over cheating, compassion over meanness, thankfulness over ingratitude, and so much more.  

 

 “The world’s greatest wisdom passes through stories,” writes Kathy Edens.

 

Take in what Kathy says:

The world’s greatest wisdom

can flow through your stories!