Personal Effects: Family

I come from a proud family. One of the enduring ethics of my family is hard work, the other is that when things are hard, you do what must be done. The mark of our family for several generations has been that despite injury, and despite poverty. Despite lack of education, we did what needed to be done. When my mother died, my father continued to raise three children, continued to work, continued to be involved in our church, in our extra-curricular activities, in our school, because that is what needed to be done. when my great grandfather was injured, he still rode the train home to his wife, knowing that if he didn't arrive home, she would worry. That was what needed to be done.

This ethos has sustained me through some difficult times. The simple knowledge that I come from a line of strong, tough, stubborn people can sometimes be the motivation that I need to get out of bed. Yesterday's post dealt with the idea that as Christians, we are each the latest in a long, proud line of christ-followers. In that same vein, I'm the latest in a long line of Lakes, and I don't want to let down my predecessors by being the generation that can't get through the tough times.

This morning, I read Jesus accusing his countrymen. They were asking for a sign from heaven (incidentally, they were asking for this sign immediately after he had driven out a demon). They needed a sign from heaven. Jesus says, "The people of Ninevah will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now one greater than Jonah is here." Luke 11:32

Just as I don't want to be accused by generations of my family, of screwing up the legacy for toughness, for getting through the hard times. I don't want to be accused by the residents of Ninevah that they didn't have the entirety of God's plan written out in front of them, and they believed. I do have the entirety of God's plan in the Bible, and sometimes I have trouble believing. I continue to work hard to do better than that for Jesus.