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| The original Ted Gehrke family |
Since I have been blogging, I've been approached by several people who confessed privately that they have been feeling inspired, to write down their family stories, for their children. They don't know how excited that makes me when I hear this. It is precisely what I'd hoped to accomplish through my story telling. I never expected that my family stories would be important to the general public. Outside of our family and a few close friends there is not that much interest in the Ted Gehrke family. None of us are famous or accomplished. We're ordinary people. Other than the fact that I have lived for 76 years, the last 45 as a Christian, I have no outstanding accomplishments that would make people want to read about my life. However, the chronicling of my history is something that only I can do and hopefully, as I do it, I will inspire others to do the same.
The information below has been taken from the "forwards" of my Christmas Books, that I wrote for my grandchildren for many years. These forwards tell them why our story is important. In rewriting them here, I hope that other Christian parents and grandparents will feel "the call" to do the same.
The first forward of the first Christmas Book begins, "For years I wanted to write down some of the stories of our lives together as a family." I wanted my children and grandchildren to know where I and their grandfather came from and what brought us to our present circumstances. In today's world there is very little exchange between grandparents and grandchildren and very little chance for that to happen. Few of us sit down and have long conversations with our grandchildren, so a lot of our family history is lost to them. This robs them of so much.
Just think of what the book and T.V. series, Roots did for black people in our country. It gave them a sense of pride in their history. It gave them sympathy for those who came before them who paved the way for better lives. It gave them a sense of connectedness like nothing else had done. It gave them hope for the future in seeing how far they had come as a race. This simple little story of their history as a people was a true treasure. I believe that is what your family history can do for your children. It is worth more than anything else you can give them.
A former President once said, "We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about." History is very important! It is the light at the back of the train that points the way to the future.
Now inspiration comes from the most unusual places. The thing that finally built a fire under me and caused me to act upon my impulses to actually start writing, was poverty. One Christmas, as I thought about what I'd give my fourteen grandchildren, I realized that even the "Dollar Tree" would be too expensive for me. When my complaining reached the ears of one of my daughters-in-law, she said to me, "Mom, why don't you write down some of your family stories and put them in a little book for the kids? They would much rather have that than a knitted scarf or a box of fudge!"
I immediately recognized the truth in that and got busy typing, editing, copying and putting several little stories into a book...one for each child. Fortunately I started in plenty time to get this big job done and the kids loved it. They asked me every year to add to their books and for many years I did this. Now they have several books full of family stories that they can pass on to their children. An added blessing, is that these stories have been read in places where I never expected them to reach, the county jail, a drug rehab facility, on various "dates" that the kids went on, in High School classes and places that I've not yet heard from. This especially warms my heart because I've tried to emphasize in them, the hand of God in our lives. Now they have found their way into Facebook and Twitter. You never know where they will be retold.
Your life and faith can inspire others. It can also fill in the gaps of understanding people have about the history of our country. As I tell about my grandfather's farm, the readers will see how an east Texas sharecropper lived in 1948. As I tell the story of my husband's life in "the orphanage" in 1949, readers will learn about life there in a huge Catholic children's home in Toledo, Ohio. Think of the impact hundreds of family stories could have on the next generation. They would no longer be at the mercy of long, boring chronicles in a history class. They would be able to see events and people who were important to them living their history.
Now I know not everyone loves to write and not everyone is a "family historian". But I'd venture to guess that almost every family has one or both in their ranks. My advice would be to find them and put them to work collaborating and as Larry the Cable Guy says, "Get 'er done!".
Now if the above reasons are not enough, I have another good one, especially for Christians, found in Psalm 78:1-12. I've written it here in a modern translation so it will be easily understood.
"My people, listen to my teaching; listen to what I say. I will speak using stories; I will tell secret things from long ago.
We have heard them and know them by what our ancestors have told us;
We will tell those who come later about the praises of the Lord.
We will tell about His power and the miracles He has done.
The Lord made an agreement with Jacob and gave the teachings to Israel, which He commanded our ancestors to teach to their children, then their children would know them, even their children not yet born, and they would tell their children. So they would all trust God and would not forget what He had done but would obey His commands.
They would not be like their ancestors who were stubborn and disobedient.
Their hearts were not loyal to God, and they were not true to Him. The men of Ephraim had bows for weapons, but they ran away on the day of battle.
They didn't keep their agreement with God and refused to live by His teachings.
They forgot what He had done and the miracles He had shown them. He did miracles while their ancestors watched,..."
Now I know that this Psalm was written to the nation of Israel about their history specifically, but there is a principle here that is meant for everyone. The principle is, "Tell your children what God has done in your life so that they will "trust God" and "not forget what He had done but would obey His commands".
To accomplish this task you don't have to be a great writer. You don't even have to be a good writer. It will be a blessing to your children if they can say, "Sounds just like her/him!" Get someone to read your drafts and correct your spelling, then print it.
Now one more thing...I'm not advocating that you young mothers who spend your days, cooking, cleaning, wiping noses and other parts and driving the "family taxi" to and fro, should give this all up for a life of writing. You are in the middle of your "story" and you're too busy living it to write it just yet. However, you can keep a journal or diary or even a calendar with events recorded in the blocks for future reference, in years to come. I wish I had done that, instead I now have to search my memory to dredge up details. Fortunately, the older I get the easier it is to remember what happened 20 years ago, than what happened yesterday.
Finally, I decided that if I can help it, my children will never forget what He did while I watched. I hope this inspires you to make that same decision because you too have "a life to write"!
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| The Ted Gehrke family after Ted Gehrke went to heaven ...and on it goes... copyright(c)byLauraGehrke2014
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