Our sheltering at home, hunkering down, and battening down the hatches drags on with only a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
We watch updated news with somber infection and mortality numbers, hoping that the tunnel light is not a train barreling down on us. We have discovered different ways to amuse ourselves and formed some new good (and maybe not so good) habits. Even so, boredom with games, cable movies, and other diversions are beginning to come up a little short. Lonely for physical contact with family and friends, a dull ache seems to be as viral as COVID-19. If this rings true, you are certainly not alone. I suggest that this is a perfect time to write down and share your own story.
Every Spring presents an opportunity to plant seeds and watch as miracles of our gardening rise from the soil. There is no exception during these turbulent and often rancorous days. This extra time we’ve been given though, can present us with endless fallow fields to sow another kind of seed. The story of your life is one of the most precious and powerful gifts you can leave behind. It makes a difference as surely as the bounty of crops harvested in the fall.
There are several ways to tell your story. The old fashioned way would be to offer it verbally to children and grandchildren. It can be written down and put in a safe place. But nowadays, there are so many platforms and ways to pass it along. Joining a genealogy group and adding it to the family tree will create a digital resource that should be available forever.
FamilySearch.com is free and Ancestry.com has a small price. There are several others. StoryCorps.org will record your story or you can upload it to their site. Then it will be stored in The Library of Congress. ChaplainUSA.org has a project available to Police Chaplains for video capture as do some other organizations. You could also create a Blog or Vlog and create your own. I know this sounds like a big project, but what better time than now to get it accomplished?
We will fight this particular contagion by the disciplined labor of love...maybe in small ways, but add them up and they make a profound difference. ~ The Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Creating and saving your story may be one of those little things and labors of love related by Michael Curry. Just imagine how it might feel for you to find a box in the attic that contains old picture albums and letters. Among the treasures is a weathered binder and in it the handwritten life story of a great grandfather you never met.
Years and years ago, he sat at lantern light, toiling after long hard days to leave his memories so that they might become yours. What a gift to receive. Suddenly you are more deeply connected to your roots and have a better sense of who you are than ever before.
It has taken lots of research, recalling memories, and pasting together old county histories to recreate such family life stories for my descendants. Now it's time to write my own. How about joining me? Getting started is the hard part. Basic elements might be to tell where you were born, what your folks and friends were like, how you did in school, the games you played, your first job, marriage, deaths of loved ones, and other life events. These all contain ripe tales. But beyond facts, the narrative created can be even richer. Show your true colors. Think about challenges that came along threatening your happiness and way of life. What lessons came from obstacles along the way?
“Where you stumble is where your treasure lies.”
I try to remember the wisdom of Joseph Campbell who tells us that “Where you stumble is where your treasure lies.” With that in mind, we might as well get busy. Don’t put it off. Because down the road from now, someone will be thrilled and blessed by a priceless gift of love and seeds we planted…once upon a time…during tough months of 2020.