What God taught me through genealogy

When I was at my Mom's house a few weeks ago, I found an old family Bible that belonged to my Grandma Clarke. I always knew the Bible was there...it sits in a nightstand bookshelf right beside the bed I sleep in when I spend the night...I just never took the time to look at it. I now know it was God who prompted me to thumb through it on this particular night.

The family records in this Bible chronicle the Milligan side of the family from which my grandma is descended. There wasn't a lot of information other than the birthdate, marriage date and date of death of my great-grandpa Milligan AND the fact that he was Irish (which delighted my heart to no end!)

This discovery sent me on a quest. I wanted to know more about this side of the family that I'd previously never looked into. There is a small genealogical library in none other than my wife's home town of Center Point that I visited on the next day. To my surprise, someone had done a family tree of the Milligan family all the way back to James Milligan who was born in 1799 in York Co. Pennsylvania! After more investigation, I learned that this man was buried in the cemetery only two blocks from where Sherri grew up having immigrated from Pennsylvania in the early 1800's!

At this point, I have to admit that the goal of my genealogical research has always been to find SOMEONE of fame in my family line - whether it be a Clarke, Bingham, Milligan, etc. I remember back in fourth grade Indiana history, I wanted so badly to be a descendant of George Rogers Clark of Revolutionary War fame or William Clark of the "Lewis and Clark expidition" (my family name didn't contain an "e" until my grandfather was mustered out of the army after WWI) but, alas, it was not to be.

I think anyone who studies their family history has the same goal in mind - we want to know that we have greatness in our blood. That someone in our lineage has dared greatly and overcome incredible odds. We want to believe that there are heroes in our family tree. I know this was my motivation.

Do you know what I found instead? Farmers. It didn't matter which family I was tracking, I am descended from up to 7 generations of farmers on every side.

At first, I was disappointed by this. But then I remembered my ordination day on November 10 of last year. As I was getting ready that day, I remember asking God what I should wear. Now, you have to understand, what I wear is usually not something I concerned MYSELF with, let alone ask God! He told me to wear a denim, button-up shirt that a friend had given me with the Latin phrase "Esse Quam Videri" (translation: "To be rather than to appear") embroidered on the front-left. I remember looking in the mirror and jokingly saying to myself, "I look like a stinkin' farmer!" To which God replied, "That's right...and that's a good thing."

Through that exchange and my recent expidition into my family line, I now realize that God knew that I would need a farmer's constitution and mindset in going where He's calling me to go with Him.

Farmer's have a love for things that grow. I have a love and a DEEP desire to see people grow into who He has created them to be.

Farmer's plant seeds. I have a burning desire to plant seeds of faith through teaching the Word, watering that seed, and to see it come to fruition in people's lives.

Farmer's give of themselves to tend their herds and flocks. I long to foster authentic relationships that lead people to healing.

Farmer's don't give up in the face of adversity. Ephesians 6:13 doesn't say, "IF the day of evil comes", it says "WHEN the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground."

The farmer's in my family line were also pioneers. They crossed into this territory when it was still unexplored and inhabited by hostiles. They weren't content with the "status quo" of a safe life back east. They were pushing the boundaries of what was known at that time. Hmmm, sounds like where we find ourselves with The River at this point!

Instead of finding kings and war heroes in my family line, I've found shepherds and farmers. And I'm finding that God knew EXACTLY what He was doing when he planted my family tree.