Be a Good Ancestor

Lesson 21: Be a good ancestor. Stand for something bigger than yourself. Add value to the Earth during your sojourn. Give something back. Every minute you drink from wells you did not dig, are sheltered by builders you will never know, are protected by police and soldiers and neighbors and caretakers whose names are in no record books, are tended by healing hands of every hue and heritage, and are fed and clothed by the labors of countless others… What will your obituary say? What will you’re your legacy in life be?
—Marian Wright Edelman, Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, 166-167

I wonder what sort of ancestor I’ll be. Or you, what sort of ancestor will you be? What will your children’s children tell their children about you? I hope they’ll say we were trusting and good. I hope they’ll be glad about the care we took for the earth and its peoples and be proud of something we accomplished that made this world a better place. I hope they’ll have stories to tell, like that time when someone came to us hungry and we sacrificed our convenience to be sure they were not only fed but watered. Or the love we passed on in the family, or the difference we made in the community, or the (you have to use your imagination… how do your hopes fill in the blank?). We hope. We hope.

Perhaps that’s one place hope come to us, from the future. It’s not about irrational dreams that we cynically and secretly think will never really come true. Hope is about imagination rooted in possibility. Hope is the trust that someday a well we dig will satisfy someone else’s thirst. Hope is the trust that someday someone we loved will pass that love on to someone else.

I hope I’ll one day be a good ancestor. I hope your great-great grandchildren will be pleased to say you were a branch on their family tree. Even more, I hope that those who never know our names will be glad we were here, when we’re no longer David or Sherry or Bob, and we’re just “ancestors.” How will we work today to make their lives flourish?

Let your imagination fly.

Along the Way, I wish you God’s peace on today’s stage of your Lenten spiritual journey. May Christ’s companionship bless you with confidence for the day, comfort you in trouble, and put a spring of joy in your step.