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“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7 (ESV)

History has never been my fave subject. All those dates, events and people were way too much for me to keep up with in school. And to be honest, history was one of those subjects I just didn’t get why I needed to take it. When would I ever have to recite the Gettysburg address? Would I ever need to know when the American Revolution was fought or who started the Boston Tea Party? In my immature mind, I squeaked by history with a passing grade and moved on.

Fast forward to middle age and I’m walking the streets of Colonial Williamsburg taking in all the sites. Amazed at the way the history of our nation has been preserved and celebrated. Horse drawn carriages, reenactments, children fascinated with wooden sticks and street games without an electronic device in hand. Beautiful day to experience the culture, food and intrigue of how our nation was established. And now that I’ve walked those streets myself, I regret my lack of enthusiasm and desire to learn about our nation’s history.

Whether we are a history buff or not, we can learn a lot from the past. Significant events recorded, shared and remembered long after those people left this world. Seemingly unimportant journeys now but when we look back and examine the path, we can find inspiration, wisdom, motivation and courage. We can learn how to avoid mistakes. We can choose to step back rather than run ahead when we calculate the cost of other’s actions and their consequences. We can unfold the pages of hard decisions and sacrifices and realize the benefit of pressing on despite difficult challenges. We can glean from their history while at the same time writing our own for future generations.

Fast forward 100 years from now – what will be the impact of our lives? Who are those people who will hear about the history of us and our faith walk? Will our legacy continue to be passed on from one generation to the next? Godly influence is not a given it is earned by those who are intentional in following after God. I want to be one of those whose authentic, real struggle with faith propels others to keep holding on to Jesus and never letting go.

“Father, I love the sweet words of Hebrews echoing the story of real people whose faith walk inspires us to trust You completely.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life