 and another one cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. (Eccl. 1:4) Genealogy The recorded history of one’s ancestry. It starts as a desire to discover who we are and where we came from. Old family stories about our forebearers, pique our curiosity, until we find ourselves questioning older family members about stories we have been told. Old photographs stare back at us with someone who gave us certain features and personality traits, even though we never knew them. It doesn’t matter that they died ,long before we were ever born. One may have had a distinctive nickname, or did or said something that is passed down through their descendants. GOD made us in his own image, gave us families to help us survive in this world. He gave us a heart and an attachment for one another; though man ,through sin ,has corrupted this gift. There is something about belonging, of having came from our parents and they, through their parents ,that gives all humans a common bond. It is like a mysterious jigsaw puzzle. We find a piece here that fits, then a little more and there is another piece. However, this only increases the desire to find more. One spends his vacation searching through old records in courthouse, archives, and even cemeteries. Have you ever gotten excited with just finding the name of an ancestor you never knew lived until that very instance? But it is more than just a name, it is like a small piece of them, carried down through us. Genealogy, even helps us connect with distant relatives who are searching too. We find they have certain physical features that we have, and even some of the same personality traits. They have been told certain things about their ancestors that we have. But, as we follow the trail of our ancestors further back through time, the dimmer the path becomes. Oh, that our forebearers could have foreseen the interest that we have in them and had left better records. How frustrating, it sometimes gets, trying to find out what happened to a son or daughter. They seem to have vanished without a trace. Did they die, or did they just move away. But when we do find them, it’s worth the search. There may be long hours, and not much to show for it, but what we do find testifies that future generations will come to know them and us better. They were not perfect, like us, but they were human beings who lived lives that should never be forgotten. Whether they were saints or sinners. Gregory Clyde Belcher copyright May 2000 |