I've always been fascinated with history, the times and lives of the generations who came before me. There is much we can learn from the lessons of the past, from their lives and how they dealt with life as it came their way, both the good and bad of it. Not only is there much to learn from the historical facts that have been recorded but even from the lore and the legends, the tales people told, things they believed.
Our own family tree is filled with such things, things we should know about and care about, learn from so that maybe we won't keep making the same mistakes over and over again, generation after generation; maybe we'll find out something that we need to carry on, bring forward, share with our generations to come, something long forgotten that may really be important. It is important to know who we are and where we came from. It can also be one of the most exciting adventures you will ever embark upon.
As you start looking into these things and start tracing your own family tree, you will probably come up with some pretty exciting information about your ancestors and who they are. For example: I'm related to Wild Bill Hickok. There is a lot of lore and legend about that man. Some of it is exaggerated folk lore and some of it is true. I'm also related to a courtier to Queen Elizabeth I and to a rather famous Scotsman named Robert the Bruce. I found out that I am related to a rather famous Native American called Uncas.
I'm related to a pirate, to war heroes, to great industrial minds, to writers and educators, to actors and actresses, to dirt farmers, tramps, miners and mill workers, adventurers, missionaries, ministers and government officials. I found out that the first generations of my family, here in America, came here between 1623 and 1628. Some of them had originally been on the sister ship that was sailing with the Mayflower. It sprung a leak and had to turn back but they eventually made it. I'm finding out a lot of fascinating things about those folks, life and living in their generation, their strengths and weaknesses; and that I am related to heroes and scoundrels alike. Life has been quite an adventure getting to be me, from that first generation to mine.
Getting acquainted with all those begets is quite an adventure. These folks are real. They really lived and they did some awesome things, they were survivors that faced life head on and dealt with it. They were also very human. You'll find out about their lives and what living on this Earth was like when they walked here. You'll learn the stories and legends that went along with them. What is more, their stories aren't entirely made up though they may be exaggerated just a tad. They aren't fiction characters, these folks really lived, are real, not some Hollywood super hero or villain from the mind of a fiction writer. It is their lives that planted the seeds that came to be you and me today.
Our roots spread far and wide and our branches spread their shadows over generations yet to come. These stories need to be recorded, told and retold. Your story needs to be told because you are a very special person, unique in your very own way. History can be fascinating and it all begins with the begets.
I imagine most of you have read the Bible or at least part of it sometime in your life. I've read it, read it more than once, at least most of it. There is one section I've been inclined to skim over until just recently…All those BEGATS…who was begotten of who, all those generations. It's not easy reading but I've come to the conclusion it is important reading. There is another small section of begets in the New Testament, the first chapter of Matthew. (Matt. 1: 1-25) That whole first chapter is about the generations, the ancestors of the man called Jesus. I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to that until the other day either, having just skimmed over it to get to the good stuff but as I was reading it I saw something I hadn't seen before, hadn't comprehended.
As I read that chapter for probably the umpteenth time I began seeing Jesus, you, me, everyone in a whole new light. I've never really doubted who Jesus is but I had never given much thought to what He might have been had He made other choices. After all, Jesus is not only God the Son, Jesus is a man, a human just like you and me with the entire human conditions we all face every day. He faced peer pressure, all the same types of influences we face, and he lived with the reputation of His generations tagged to Him just like we do. “Nothing good can come out of Nazareth,” what sort of good could come from “that” family? Haven't we all said that about someone or had it said about us at one time or another? Maybe it is the reverse as well, things are expected of you, and you are expected to follow the same pattern of those who came before you.
