A Lasting Legacy

I was gone last week on a little Thanksgiving holiday vacation. The vacation was not just to enjoy the holiday week. We were also able to attend and witness our two grandchildren being dedicated at their church. This made the week of Thanksgiving ALL the more fulfilling and memorable.

When I look at the photo of our adult children below, our daughters, holding their children, standing before their congregation to make the commitment to raise their children as Christ followers, it was very emotional for me. Not just because they were dedicating their children to the Lord. The story is SO much bigger than that. You see, the church they are standing in was the church that I became born again. The same church 10 years later, that my daughters attended when they were in college. The same church that my oldest daughter and son in law were baptized in the college ministry. The same church my first grandchild, Urijah was dedicated 2 years ago and now, our 2nd and 3rd grandchildren are being dedicated in. That church, Parkview Baptist Church, in Iowa City, IA, will forever be a church that has been and continues to be used by God to make an impact on me and my family.

Here is what the parents have committed to that day:
"Will you, by God's help, do the following for your child:

• Provide a Christian home?
• Teach about the Lord from the Bible?
• Pray for your child?
• Be an example of a committed Christian?
• Do all you can to help your child come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and follow Him as Lord?"

So, as I am watching my daughters, holding their children, agreeing to this commitment, I look up and see the words on the screen behind them: "A Lasting Legacy". I smiled and said to myself, "THIS is what life is about." THIS is the ONLY thing that will last into eternity. The passing down of a legacy of faith in Jesus Christ.

You can see in the picture above, the Pastor introduced them and then they shared with the congregation the life verse or verses for their children:

For my oldest daughter Larissa, they chose Psalm 25:5 for their daughter Alissa: 
"Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are the God of my salvation;I wait for You all day long."

For my younger daughter Bridgette, they chose Isaiah 40:29-31 for their son Aidan:
"He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
³⁰ Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
³¹ but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint."

 THIS was a Thanksgiving to remember for our family, that now has SO MUCH more meaning than just another Thanksgiving holiday. This Thanksgiving we have SO MUCH more to be thankful for that has blessed our entire family that will last forever. 

Thank you Lord Jesus for answered prayers. Thank you for your grace and mercy for my daughters and for their children. Thank you for your saving grace. Thank you for never giving up on us, even through our darkest hours. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!