Warning - Grief ahead

Well, this is the week.  I have anticipated (somewhat dreaded) this week for a number of months.  This is the time in my sabbatical when I decided to focus on dealing with my grief issues.  If you are one of the millions of people out there that don’t want to think about, reflect on, or anyway get near the idea of death, loss, and grief you may want to skip reading my blog for the next week or so.

Yesterday was the Timberg family party.  There weren’t enough of us to call it a reunion but we gathered in the farm house between Kingston and Dassel, Minnesota, where Sven August began his American life after emigrating from Sweden.  His fourth generation and a couple of 5th generation descendants compared stories, shared photos, ate lunch, and drank coffee.  Last time we were together, my parents, uncle, and a few others represented the 3rd generation.  Since then, they have all died.  When we stood on the porch for the family picture, it was a clear symbol of the passing of the generations.  It is now our turn to carry on the family legacy.

I remember how important it was for my dad to bring me to the Timberg farm when I was a young girl.  There was no one living there at the time but we walked the grounds while he told stories.  I wish I had paid closer attention.  As a youth, it seemed there would always be another time to hear those old names and details again. I wondered why it all mattered so much.  Well, maybe it doesn’t matter so much but it would be nice to know.  It is nice to know where I came from - what kind of people, values, experiences make up parts of my identity.   But how many of us wish we had asked more questions when our parents and grandparents were alive?

The New Testament indicates that Jesus used storytelling more than any other means of communication to teach what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of God.   After the resurrection, I wonder if the disciples wished they had paid closer attention when Jesus was talking.  They often seemed oblivious as to why it mattered so much when he was on earth.  Nevertheless, who we are through Jesus Christ and the foundations of faith that we believe have come to us from generations passing along the stories.   Imagine what it would be like if no one had written them down.

And so if you have made it this far in my story telling, here’s my charge to you.  Write down your family stories.  It will be a cherished family treasure - for remembering, for grieving, for life, for generations to come.