September 20
DebDay 190: Legacy Faithfulness
Lord willing, I leave early tomorrow. I'll fly to SoCal, pick up my 91 year old father, and drive him 7-8 hours to NorCal. So he can meet his newest great-grandson, and reacquaint with his first great-grandson. 2 full days of family; bookended with travel days.
This will be a different make up of a family gathering for us. I'll be there (but no Deb.) Dad will be there (but no Mom.) Son Steve will be there (but no Sarah.) Aside from daughter Kaycie, it will be a guys' hang. (Pity her.)
I'm hoping this time together will result in enduring memories. I'm encouraging my kids to ask my dad for stories. We will take a lot of photos. (To do otherwise is to incur the wrath of our non-attending spouses.)
And while passing around the littlest one, or playing with the older one, we will talk. As my now widowed father is a wealth of wisdom, and carries a long history of following Jesus, I want these conversations between my father and my children to matter. To carry some weight. To not be easily forgotten. To be a legacy recounted. Even for a torch to be passed.
This is why the Lord had the Israelites stop several times each year to celebrate feasts. So they'd worship...and remember stuff.
I admit this break in the action for me is coming at a good time. For whatever reasons (some real, some imagined) I have been feeling the weight of responsibilities more acutely than before.
In preparation for being out of town, I needed to record two different sermons this past week. Doing this caused me to feel like a sermon ATM. Or more like a Rainbird garden sprinkler.
But, (and even though it was me talking) I needed to hear both sermons myself. I needed to be reminded that Jesus is in control, and I am not. To be reminded that our church is not defined by a secure meeting location. To remember again that Covid restrictions and fears do not (cannot) define us.
And to be reminded of what and how Jesus has been faithful to us in the past. His past care for me, my family and our church is the best indicator and insurance of His continued care for us.
I am looking forward to hearing my dad's stories myself. Just like I look forward each morning to reading and remembering God's story in His Word. One an example of the other. A record, a history, a legacy of faithfulness.
And hopefully, when I again reengage writing these posts (on what will then be "Day 197") I hope to return full of stories of God's faithfulness. And me encouraged to see how there are countless examples of His faithfulness to be seen in His legacy faithfulness to my own family.
And yours, too.
-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau
