Gina Caswell Kelly
I had the honor of speaking at the Caswell family reunion recently. Two things. Number one, my dog ate my notes on Sunday morning before I was to speak after church. Cute was his redeeming quality at that point. And, two – It is amazing to see how our family history has played out. I have talked before about how my daddy’s great, great, however many greats grandfather talked about his faith in God in his final will. I love to see that and see how that faith in God has continued throughout the generations of this family. Sure, the limbs of our family tree fork off a bit here and there, and the branches bend a bit in the wind, but the roots remain the same. We are all rooted and grounded in a faith in Jesus Christ.
I love reading through the genealogies in the Bible. In Luke 3, Luke traces the earthly genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam and then to God. I find it fascinating that they kept such good records throughout all those years. Look it up! Luke 3:23-38. I enjoy thinking about my family line, and how it could also be traced all that far back. I don’t know that we actually have those capabilities, but how cool would it be if we could trace our line all the way back to men and women in the Bible?
The thing about talking about our families is that God has some big jobs for us. We are to teach our children and our children’s children about the love of God and what He has done in our lives. We are to teach our children about the people in the Bible and how God worked for them. But, we also need to be teaching them our stories of what God has done in our lives. That is our lasting legacy.
We had a preacher a few years ago that challenged us to all write down our “Faith Story.” The story of God in our lives. Kind of a “Gospel according to Gina” type thing. I went right home and started on this. Mine is now up to about 17 or 18 pages. But it tells the story of my life growing up. When I accepted Jesus. The struggles along the way. The joys along the way. How I have seen God’s hand in my own life. How I saw him in the lives of my parents. I hope this is something my children will treasure one day. I hope it will give them a glimpse into how I grew up and what role God played in my life.
What is your family legacy? We are all leaving a legacy of some kind. Is yours a good one or a bad one? Is it a legacy of serving God, or one of rejecting Him? It is not too late to change the legacy you leave behind! Follow God and leave that as your legacy! It will make a difference
