I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."
John 4:38
It happens when you're running that big household thing.
Not that there's some sort of character quality mandate in keeping your cinema viewing current.
So on those rare occasions when things get a little calm and we have a bit to sit, we've been trying to catch up.
And an interesting theme has begun to emerge.
There have been a spate of movies recently that deal with the storyline of being able to go back in one's life, to be able to 'do-over' and to learn, to view one's mistakes and foibles and create a better future.
Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', a la our times.
There's a lot of soul-searching and epiphany.
And a lot of purpose seeking.
And once the winds of past and possible future have blown through, once the main protagonist has learned his lessons and amended his ways, the score swells and the credits roll.
It is tempting, this idea of doing-over. Taking the lessons of time and applying them to an earlier season.
But what if the lessons and challenges of our lives are not just for us?
My ancestors traveled to this country many years ago. They left the familiar and literally sailed uncharted waters. They arrived in a land unfamiliar.
A few of their names I know. A few I don't.
Those ancestors chose regions to settle in. Marriages were made, children were born. Decisions.
Decisions that would impact future generations.
And as I look down the branches of the family tree, as the names and dates become more concentrated to the people and places I have known, I am struck afresh with how the way they lived their lives, the places they chose to settle, the churches they attended where they met future spouses, the lessons they taught their children, it all speaks into my life today.
And so what if part of the purpose of today is not about my goals and my dreams and my to-do list, but about a shimmer of future, a descendant who may never know my name, who may not have my memory in easy recall.
But whose life is impacted all the same.
I often reap from a field I didn't sow. And I'm sowing where I may not reap.
And perhaps that is what vision and purpose is about.
Selah.
This is something that's been on my mind recently...choices and their consequences, leaps of faith and the possibility of failure. I am very fortunate to have easy access to a well-sown field from which I, and my family, reap daily.
ReplyDeleteAgain, thanks for your Sunday Selah posts. I've begun reading some of them to the Hubby and he made the comment that your writing has "meat". ;0)
Some interesting thoughts today, as I come back from a very good sermon at mass. Thank you for always coming up with great thought provoking posts.
ReplyDeleteJ and I think that we are sowing today for our children's future. As I have recently met his grandmother, and gotten yet another glimpse of where he comes from, it brings us even closer.
Happy Sunday.
PS-I was reading your blog post and my little man (3) asked me who you all were. I pointed out your eight children and said those are all brothers and sisters, isn't that a lot of kids? and he said "like a whole town?" LOL!!
ReplyDeleteSo true!
ReplyDeleteIt took me a long time to learn that it's better to be part of a chain of positivity which you lose track of, than to be part of a closed circle, where you are doing good, but only within a small community or group.
How much better to send something positive out into the world without having to own it - or does that sound too much like 'Pay it forward'?
This reminds me of the Sarah Groves song that talks about our decisions affecting future generations, Just like it did for EVE... asking God to bring blessing upon our children and our children's children. sigh...
ReplyDelete