I come from a very long line of extraordinary people. Both sides of my family contain some pretty legendary folk (a Mayflower descendent, soldiers in both the Revolutionary War and Texas Revolution, Sir Francis Drake, the Republic of Texas chaplain, etc.), and my (white) privilege of knowing my ancestors is something I do not take lightly.
On St. Patrick’s Day, my Dad always brings up my great great great great grandfather Richard Reily, who came to Texas in the 1840s to flee the potato famine. Fighting in the Mexican-American war and establishing a business and a family, Richard contributed to the DNA of go-getters that paved the way for posterity.
It’s an immense honor to think of the great things these women and men before me did, but I would not be sincere if I wasn’t slightly intimated by this precedent.
I have to ask, “What will be my contribution to this lineage?”
At my core, I think the thing I desire most is greatness. Not just being “good” or being “noteworthy” even…but great. When I (Lord willing) look back on my life, I wonder of what I’ll be proudest. Will it be something I did? Something I said? The way I interacted with my fellow humans? Or the ideas that turned into actions?
In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus says, “28 ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”
If I choose to follow Christ, then I need not be concerned about areas in which I will be glorified; no, no, my instructions are simple: take up the yoke of Jesus, and learn from him.
No mention of perfection, no command of notoriety. Just trust and humility. By pointing ourselves toward Jesus, we retire the notion that our worth is defined by our prowess. Does God celebrate with us when we succeed? Absolutely. But when life makes us weary and burdened, we have a savoir who gives us rest.
Greater than greatness, I am proudest to come from a long line of faithful servants. I leave you today with an excerpt from a devotional my Dad wrote a few years ago. He and my Mom…talk about a legacy:
“…Then I think about my extended family. Some of the people who have had the greatest impact on my life are my ancestors, including many I never knew. Some had the courage and faith to leave homes and family to come to frontier Texas or booming Houston, to make new lives as circuit-riding preachers, merchants, ranchers, or construction contractors. Others were teachers or salesmen or homemakers. Many struggled through wars and droughts and “hard times.” All made sacrifices to ensure that their children and grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren had better lives and grew up in homes of faith.…
…Thinking of this “great cloud of witnesses” humbles me, but also challenges me to do my part, to “pass it forward.” I try to honor the lives and sacrifices of those who have influenced me by doing the same for others, by finding ways to serve, to teach, to encourage, and to share God’s love every day. I’ve also come to realize that lives are transformed one touch at a time, and we may never know the difference made by even the smallest acts of kindness.“
Food for thought: Who is your greatest role model?
Rachel Fisher 