"Mom, look how much I've gotten done on this! Reminds me of your mom saying hard work is fun when you can see where you've been." My kids never knew my mom, who died when I was 17. But I'm glad that at least one of them picked up on something I had told them about her, and she also went on to say that her mind works the same way. My older daughter, a professional accountant, says she still does some things the way she learned from me when she ran my office when she was in high school--much of which I absorbed from her grandmother, also an accountant. Our Creator has made us all different in many ways, but He also repeats Himself in many ways as well. It's like going over old family pictures--it's fun to look for resemblances across generations.
We should remember that people will also see spiritual resemblances within our families. St Paul tells of seeing a faith in Timothy like that of his mother and grandmother. (II Timothy 1:5). Do we show the best from our own family's heritage, and would people recognize good things from us in our children? The other side of this coin is a tough one. One of the side-effects of Facebook is that I've seen both good and bad sides of friends and family showing up in their kids and grandkids. I worry about one young relative who is following some of her dad's less positive footprints, because her love for her dad blinds her to the reality she grew up with.
Are we open to seeing our families as God sees us? Can we recognize lessons? Are we living the right lessons? Can we look back and see positive changes from where we've been?
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