Preserving a Legacy
Preserving a Legacy of Family, Faith, and Food: November 1 – December 31
Family. What does that word conjure up in your heart? I hope that when you think of family that you have good memories, happy feelings.
Regardless of whether our own childhood was filled with lots of love and laughter, it is within our reach to give that legacy to our own children.
What binds a family together? It’s more than just blood that binds families together. After all, a mother and father can love an adopted child just as much as a biological child. And Friends can even become “family.”
1. Shared memories hold a family together. First and foremost, it is shared memories that bind people together. Having a common past gives family and friends a feeling of belonging. I remember when I first married my husband and was just getting to know his grown kids. They would talk about things from the past and I didn’t share those memories, so I felt somewhat like an outsider. Now, 15 years later I “belong” to this family because I share 15 years of memories – of struggles and triumphs, sorrow and joy.
Shared memories are why even family members who rarely ever see or talk to each other will come together for reunions and sit around for hours enjoying family recipes and stories from the past. Day in and day out they live separate lives, but that common thread still pulls them together.
What do you want your children to remember?
2. Tradition holds a family together. Tradition of course is related to shared memories, but tradition gives a family something to look forward to while at the same time preserving the past.
When I was growing up, my mother always made homemade cheese crackers, date balls, and snow ball cookies at Christmas time. Since I grew up and left home, not a Christmas has gone by that I haven’t made those same recipes. And now my own children, step-children, and grand children look forward to those treats (and more) as well.
By creating traditions in our families we give our children something to cherish, to hold on to, and to take with them when they leave home to make their own way.
3. Praying together holds a family together. Have you ever heard the saying “A Family that prays together, stays together?” It’s true! A family that is praying together doesn’t harbor anger or resentment or bitterness. Parents who pray with their children preserve more than just a legacy of faith, they preserve a legacy of grace.
Family worship is so important! I can’t stress enough how worshiping together as a family on a daily (or at least weekly) basis is in nurturing the faith in a child. If you want to see your children remain in the church and live their faith out loud when they are grown, pray with them, worship with them, praise Him together.
After all, you can’t take riches or fame to heaven, but you can take your family. Family is the real treasure.
Preserving a legacy of family, faith and food is worth the effort!
You can find all of the Preserving a Legacy articles here.
How are you preserving a legacy in your family?
