Passing It On

Living with pecan trees all around is a guarantee that there will be some work to do tomorrow.  When storms come through, or the wind hints a blowing, limbs start cracking and falling.  Nature has a unique way of pruning these big old pecan trees under which I am constantly walking.  The other day I asked a neighbor boy, a young seventh grader, if he wanted to work a bit and he did which may be surprising to some who think that teenagers cannot be pried away from the hand held devices.  As we picked up limbs and talked, I told him about "Walden's Pond."  He is a reader and has some interest in things that are rural so I passed it on as something he might look into one day.

 

Passing it on is one of the things important to us as we grow older.  I want to pass on those things that are valued.  I want my children and grandchildren to grow with an appreciation for the land and the way being connected to it enhances our living.  I want them to value dirty hands and hard sweat.  I want them to know that Thoreau had a good thing in mind when he invited those who read his words to simplify, simplify, simplify.

 

I also want them to know that as surely as being connected to the dirt has rooted me so has my faith in God rooted me.  I want them to value faith in Christ not by hearing it talked about, but by experiencing it for themselves.  Head knowledge never can take the place of heart experience.  I want them to be able to look back at the end of their lives and know with certainty that they lived connected to Jesus Christ.  How shall they know?  The only way they will know is by having that faith passed on to them by the likes of me and the other important adults in their lives.  "Lord, help me to be faithful in passing on what it means to be connected to your Son and my Savior, Jesus."