Passing the Faith

Our family has had an exciting few weeks.

October 5th found my mom passing on to her eternal reward. My brothers will have their own celebrations of life with their families in Texas, but mine got together and sang Mama through the pearly gates! Though she wasn’t fond of the Gaither song, Passin’ the Faith Along (because of its repetitive tune and lyrics), that’s exactly what she did.

This past weekend, we continued to commit ourselves as a family to passing the faith along through a different kind of celebration of life.

  Our youngest granddaughter, aka the princess of the world, was dedicated to the Lord. At her young age, she was more interested in being a ‘big girl, no cry, get new puple (purple) shirt,’ than what was actually happening. Missy and Jeremy took their part of the ceremony seriously as they pledged their lives to raise Josie in the ways of God as they had Dylan a few years earlier. As those of the family who were present and the congregation joined in prayer for the little ones on stage, we all promised to support and pray for Josie and her family. Raising godly families is a difficult process at best. In the present world situation, it is even more important to have a strong support group that surrounds each other in prayer.

As we lost one prayer warrior in Mama, I am thinking more and more about being among the older generation. Mama didn’t drop the baton at the end. As Stephanie and her family visited Mom the night before she died, they said Mama took time to pray for them.

I think I need to pick up the pace and continue the race those before me have started. Prayer for my own family has to become more of a focus for my day to day activities. The minister’s sermon spoke of ‘enlarging the tent’. Though our immediate family will have no more children, the next generation will. I can pray for my grandchildren’s future spouses and their children. I firmly believe in those kinds of prayers. In Deuteronomy 5:10, God promises to show kindness to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. May our family always acknowledge and live out that truth every day in every thought or deed.

But…

I am also praying our tents will be enlarged by the people we minister to and influence to follow Christ. As our family fulfills not only the parental mandates of Scripture, may we also pass the faith along as Christ instructed us to do. May we always be ready to tell the wonderful news of Jesus’ loving sacrifice so that others choose to become children of God by believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Blessings

KB