Last week I opened up my email to find treasure.
A cousin had sent me several pieces of writing by my great grandmother, Mabel Jackson. Some were dated, a few as early as the 1930s.
I keep coming back to these words, some typed, some handwritten, relishing the faith and humility that Grandma Jackson walked in.
As Ecclesiastes tells us, there is nothing new under the sun. My faith in the unseen, mighty God is not new. Generations before me rubbed the tattered fringes of God’s banner of love, as I now do.
Grandma Jackson walked carried her grief and fears, her hopes and dreams to the cross. I wonder how she prayed for me when I was born. I wonder if she knew that I would one day find her to be a kindred spirit when I read her writing.
I now have even more reason to look forward to heaven; I will have the chance to thank her for writing words like these, and thank God for sending them to me after all these years:
Lead me oh Thou Great Jehovah
Lest I stumble, fall or go astray.Oh I ask not that the way be
Made smooth and straight for me each day.
But that Thy own hand shall lead me
Lead me gently all the way.Only a touch of Thy hand, dear Lord,
Only a touch of Thee.
Just let me feel Thy nail-pierced hand
And I will not ask to see.Tho the way be rough and rugged
And the around me roll.
That dear hand that stills the waters
Shall still the tempest of my soul.This is my earnest prayer today,
Lead me gently home dear Lord
Lead me gently all the way.-Mabel O. Jackson
March 29, 1938
Our faith is not static, it is not bound by the era we live in, the years of our life, or the seemingly small role we play in society. Faith is living, and active, sharper than the blade of a mighty sword. It fills the space of the ages, it will touch the future in ways we can’t imagine.
Mabel Jackson never could have known that one day one granddaughter of hers would scan her pages of writing and email them to another who would open them on her iPhone.
She did what she knew she could do, writing down the musings of her soul, and safe-keeping them for someone, somewhere, sometime.
We can do the same. We can leave a faithful legacy for our children, our grandchildren, and beyond.
Then someday when the generations rejoice together in God’s presence, we will marvel at how we never stood alone, but held one another up across the eras through prayer and faith.
On that day, I will stand beside Mabel Jackson, my grandmothers, my mother, and I pray my own daughter and granddaughters will stand beside me, too.
We do not walk alone.
We are living a legacy.
Oh, how precious this is- the thought of your great grandmother's writing landing in your hands just gives me the chills. And your reminder that we are living a legacy does, too. Amazing the way words are passed and they inspire and bless long beyond our lives. I write letters to my kids in journals and tell them often, "be sure to READ these when I'm gone— and make sure Dad reads his, too!" 🙂 Happy New Year
Thank you, Alicia! I love that idea of keeping a journal of letters for the children. I may have to do that too!