My grandma worked extra hard to instill in each of her children & grandchildren a knowledge of our ancestors. She would gather us together (putting up with many complaints & eye-rolls) to tell the stories of the people who came before us. I’m sure it wasn’t the easiest thing on the planet for her to do but her example taught me a very important lesson: she was proud of her family–on both sides of the veil. As the years have gone on, I look back on those moments with so much appreciation & I’m trying hard to do the same for my children because I need as much strength for the future as I can get 🙂
It’s hard to put into words the strength that I feel from my ancestors when I intentionally put forth effort to learn more about them. But it 100% happens. My life is crazy busy–most likely very similar to yours!–but when I make time to get to know my people better, I can literally feel the bonds being strengthened between us. I believe that the more interested we are in the lives of our ancestors, the more interested they are in our lives as well. That makes sense doesn’t it? In your life right now, who do you feel most connected to? Chances are it’s the people you spend the most time with, the people that you love, the people who make an effort to go the extra mile for you!
I love that there are SO many ways to get involved in family history work & am pretty sure you can tailor any talent or interest to this great work! For me that means taking dozens of pictures & compiling them into Chatbooks for my kids & future generations. It means visiting the graves of our ancestors & having ancestor birthday parties! It means reading the stories & finding the photos of those who have gone before me. It means investing my time to connect with an incredible network of people who love me & my children so much!
I know time is precious but the blessings far outweigh any sacrifice–I promise 🙂 And when I say any sacrifice, I truly mean that. God works in miraculous ways so putting forth just the teeniest effort (five minutes a day!) can bring about great things in your life.
You can read more from Jessie by following her on Instagram @missgenealogy and learn more about her Family History Chatbooks course and her podcast on her website.