Heritage and Home

I took my son to my father’s grave today.  As I clutched my son tightly to my chest, the depth of my soul was being overwhelmed by emotions.  I glanced at the tombstone and my eyes traced the engraved lettering that spelled out my father’s name.  I laughed as I shared with my young son the happy memories of my childhood with my father.  As I stood basking in the warm sunlight of that brisk late December afternoon, I began to think of my heritage and my home.  It dawned upon me for the first time in my life how my heritage shaped me and prepared me to be the man I am today.  Often, there are many who will deny or flee from their heritage instead of embracing it and allowing God to use that heritage to shape you for His glory.  I thought of my church heritage.  I had the privilege of growing up in church.  I have seen the thick and the thin of life in the church.  People have come and gone, but throughout time there were those who remained faithful even to this day.  I have seen young people leave the church only to follow after the leading of God and have spread the ministry of His word.  I am one of those.  So many of those dear members of that church have continued to provide to me encouragement, prayers, and support and have helped me to stay true to God’s leading in my life.  There is the community heritage.  The town where I fondly grew up is known as “The Family Town”.  It was a close community.  It is said that “It takes a village”.  Within that village are people who have helped shaped me to be the person I am today.  Whether negative or positive, God used them to make me stronger.  I still embrace that community and understand the importance of community in the life of a person, but not only the person, but the church.  Then there is my cultural heritage.  My family.  We ate with some members of that family today.  I saw a man that I have sat under his tutelage for many years on Sundays and Wednesdays.  I thought of the advices he gave and the opportunities he offered to help polish me.  Today, he continues to take young men and women under his wings and prepare them to answer God’s call for their lives, just like he did 20 years ago to man and many other young men before and after.  I am thankful for my family.  They are not perfect, but they sure can back you up when you need it.  Church, community, and culture together are my heritage.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (I Corinthians 15:10)  Everything Paul went through in His life prior to this point God used it to prepare him for this point in His life.  No matter what influences you have had in your past, God can use those influences that you have and prepare you and mold you to be stronger now and to help you pass along those experiences in the likelihood of ministering to others.  This is my longest stay away from our Illinois home to visit with my North Carolina roots, but I am even more thankful today that I have the heritage of my church, my community, and my culture (family) that helped to shape me to be the man, wife, and father that I am today.  Don’t flee from your heritage.  But allow God to use it to shape and mold you today.  There is an old bumper sticker I remember that says “American by birth, southern by the grace of God”.  The grace of God allowed me to have the heritage that I have to be the man I can be for His purpose.  Every one of us has a heritage and a home, by the grace of God, He can use it, no matter what it is.