I peddle a bicycle 10 miles a day. Some days as much as
30. As a result, I have managed to drop some serious weight over the past few
years, and have accumulated over 12,500 road miles.
Perhaps the last word of the first sentence is a bit of a
misnomer. Actually, more often than not, I peddle 10 miles a night, for I’m
often out on the road by 330am. And it is in the wee hours of the morning that
I must often choose to pray, as well as reflect on the legacy I am leaving
behind.
I have touched a multitude of lives, as during my
Christian walk, I have had the privilege of leading numerous children’s groups,
preaching, teaching, and singing behind multiple pulpits, counseling literally
thousands of individuals, couples and families, sharing conceptual knowledge
with hundreds as a professor in university classrooms, and mentoring and
training dozens of bright-eyed young interns who were preparing to undertake
formal or informal ministry, and to impact their world.
And yet at this point in my life much, perhaps most, of
my focus and priority is on… you. When I say “you,” I am referring to those who
will come after me; my direct or indirect descendants. And I pray for you on a
daily basis, though I may never know your name until hopefully we meet “on the
other side.”
We stand on the shoulders of giants, and as Christians
“who give a rip,” and have chosen to impact their world for good and for God,
we are part and parcel of an unbroken chain of one person impacting another
person stretching all the way back to one of the original disciples, and in
turn to Jesus, Himself.
I don’t want to be responsible for breaking the chain. I
refuse to be responsible for breaking the chain. I desperately want to impact
those whom God sets in my pathway, and I desperately want to see them impact
the next generation. One link after another being added to that long and
weighty chain.
I have so often looked at those large old family photos;
pictures of my GG grandfather and GG grandmother. The edges of the celluloid
backing is curling now, the tint of their flesh still maintains its artificial
color, their lips are tight and unsmiling, their eyes are devoid of light, and
they stare blankly into space.
I have wondered if they ever thought of me, or if they
took time out of their busy schedule to pray for me. Few, if any, (though to be
fair, there have been a few) have bothered to leave a message behind; words
which served as an entre into their lives, an understanding of who they were,
what they believed, whom they loved, what they did, whom to who they practiced the
fine art of impact.
Well, though by the time you read these pages I may have
gone on to my reward, dear grandchildren, I can tell you I have, I do, and I
will continue to pray for you; as long as I continue to breathe in and out.
Though at this writing, you are “not yet a twinkle,” your existence on this
earth is inevitable, and God knew the plans He had for you before He made the
worlds.
So, if by chance you one day have the opportunity to gaze
upon a caricature of my own features, as I have had the opportunity to look
into a portrait of my ancestors’ features, never doubt that I looked forward to
your appearance on this earth, cared for you, prayed for you, and loved you
with an everlasting love.
GrandDad
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