What a wonderful inheritance! I will bless the Lord…—Psalm 16:6–7 (tlb)
“My pleasant task,” wrote Aunt Annie, “was to entertain the children. I thought they would enjoy playing Pass the Seashell…The children took turns listening to my conch shell and relating what it said. Imagine my surprise when my six-year-old niece Penney announced, ‘The seashell said Aunt Annie is an old maid!’”
I always thought of Aunt Annie, my father’s oldest sister, as the stereotypical spinster. She came to our house for holiday dinners and we visited her, but when she died, I realized I’d never made the effort to really get acquainted.
Then God gave me a second chance when I found a cardboard box that had been tucked away in my basement since the day after Aunt Annie’s funeral. The box contained copies of nearly two thousand verses, articles and stories she’d had published over a fifty-eight-year period.
The real Aunt Annie came alive as I pored over the contents of the box. Her life had been filled with friends and students; she was a lay visitor for her church, actively helping her neighbors; she traveled extensively. She often wrote about family, so I learned something about our history and even about myself. Best of all, I received advice for living that’s still relevant today.
All of us have family, neighbors and friends with memories and stories that deserve to be told, heard, remembered and shared. These life experiences enable us to better understand and appreciate ourselves, each other and God.
Thank You, Lord, for my inheritance in You. Help me be faithful in passing on the faith.
