LEAVING SOMETHING BEHIND. Pts. 1-2

Preface

As a person who seeks after excellence, who has been involved in counseling clients, teaching students, and mentoring interns over the past quarter of a century, and who wishes to “leave something behind” to the generation which will secede me, I am taken up with compiling a myriad of written materials which “will stand me in good stead,” long after I have gone on to my reward.

Following is an introduction I include as a prelude to each of my series of journals and other works, which I am currently maintaining on hard drive, and which I intend to invest in each of my children; whom I hope will do the same, ad infinitum.

Pt. 1

I stare into the eyes of that yellowing, fading portrait of my great Grandparents now, and their dull, unblinking eyes reveal

… absolutely nothing.

And I have often mused, “Why didn’t you leave something behind?”

Oh, how I would have enjoyed knowing you. How wonderful it would have been if you had left some word, some reflection, something of yourselves.

Well, my dear descendants, I have decided NOT to repeat their mistake; (and yes, I consider it an irrevocable mistake; which once the party has passed from this earth can never be corrected.) I think the following daily journal entries, (as well as my previously written autobiography, counseling memoirs, and other volumes) will not only elicit a few laughs, but provide you some insight into the life of your ancestor; someone not unlike yourself, who lived, and loved, and moved, and breathed, and made his way about this earth, and even impacted a few for good, “before you were even a twinkle.”

You deserve it.

And this writer, who by the time you read these words may have long since ceased to live, and love, and breathe, and move, and enjoy the beauty which God has visited upon our planet, can only wish you well, and exhort you to do as I am currently doing…

We are all too close to having eyes which do not see, ears which do not hear, and mouths which do not speak. While there is still time,

… Leave something of yourself behind.

And so much more crucial than my previous admonition, I earnestly pray, (and I have prayed for you when you were not, and when only God knew you by name) that you will give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, and faithfully serve Him, as I believe that I have done. For as a wise and equally well-known man of my time, Dr. James Dobson, (whom I once met, and conversed with) has encouraged his own children, and grandchildren…

… “Be There!”

… “Be There!”

I hope to meet you in heaven. I’ll be waiting for you; just inside the gate.

Granddaddy McDonald

Pt. 2

As someone who wishes to “leave something behind,” I reflect on the way product marketeers continue to makes changes to, and “upgrade” the stuff we purchase, especially the storage devices which contain that which we leave to the next generation, i.e. reel to reel audio & video, 8 track tapes, cassette tapes, DVD’s, CD's, hard drives, etc.

I am currently 'saving' all sorts of family genealogy, photos, and personal writing on cd's and hard drives, but I am concerned that these will, over time, be replaced by a new generation of e-devices, and that my family members won't care enough to transfer the material to whatever version of storage devices are technologically next in line.

But I guess I won't be here to see it, and I can't give them the "want to," "care enough," or “round tuit” to be sure it happens. Of course, there is every reason to believe that there are generations in my family who are, at this moment, still unborn. And who can say what value they will assign to this information?

And while perhaps a third of my writing has been relegated to binders, and fills up a six x three bookcase in my home office, (and I think the likelihood of its continuance is a bit greater than that of the electronic kind,) it pains me to think my 3x (great great great) grandchild might leave the stuff on the curb for the trashman.

Of course, by then I will be looking down from the grandstands of heaven. Yet, if tears existed on the other side, (though scripture makes it very clear that they will not) I can imagine I would cry a river; for all the love, time and efforts I have expended on endless genealogies, posting of photos, writing of volumes, and the collection of ministry materials.

I have half-jokingly told my clients, students, interns and children that if they fail to cherish, and keep whatever I am currently investing in them ‘alive,’ be it tangible, spiritual or practical in nature, I will come back and haunt them. 

Hmmm… That idea may have some merit.

By William McDonald, PhD. From (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 77. Copyright pending

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