Generation To Generation: Starting Out Right

                                                       Everyday is a brand new day,
                                                       everyday is a journey.



Through love to light! 
O wonderful the way,
That leads from darkness 
to the perfect day!
From darkness and from
 sorrow of the night
To morning that comes 
singing o'er the sea.
Through love to light! through 
light O God to Thee!
Who art the love, 
the eternal light of light!

--Richard Watson Gilder.

Something I did not do right in life is start off the right way. When I look back, I think I did everything wrong. Quite the opposite! I should have gone to school and furthered my education. I should have waited and had children with a good man. I should have, could have, would have. I definitely could turn this into a sob story, but where I am now, is not where I used to be. Praise God for that!

One of my main goals in doing this series has been to improve on our ancestral heritage with the forthcoming generations. That's how you solve any repeating habits from the past. Someone has to make that first change, that first decision to be different and better than the last generation.

Somehow, both of my children have certainly been a whole lot smarter in this area. In fact, they have been smarter in many areas. I sometimes wonder where in the world did they get so much knowledge? It certainly wasn't from me. I always laugh that God raised my kids, because they turned out so well.

It physically pains me to see young people make the same mistakes as I have done, especially if they happen to be my family. This repeated pattern that we keep doing from one generation to the next needs to stop, but how do we get this message across? I certainly never listened to the older and wiser family member in my time, why should they? 

I see the same mistake in my younger friends. They seem to be determined to make their own mistakes even if it takes them on a long and difficult road in life. It must be something inside of us as human beings that we refuse to listen to sound advice from elders. Is it how we were built?

When I look back on my relatives who have beat the repeating pattern (whatever it may be) did so, because of a deep desire to not be where their ancestor resided. They learned from observing how their relatives lived their lives. They saw the consequences that stemmed from bad decisions. They decided to be and live differently.

So that's what I am hoping for with this new series. I want to decipher what those repeating habits are and examine the outcomes from these generational mistakes. I want to make sure we stop making the same bad decisions by bringing them to the forefront. I have no idea how long this series will be or how often I will write about it. My goal for this year is to concentrate on breaking these chains our family has been shackled in for generations. 

Maybe you too can learn something about your own family in the process. Have a blessed and a Happy New Year.