Discovering My Family’s Legacy

Next week, RootsTech, the world’s largest family discovery event, will help thousands of people all over the world connect with their heritage and discover relatives they didn’t know existed. In anticipation of this exciting event, which is free online to everyone, I was asked to share my story about learning more about my husband’s roots and how they tied into our family’s faith as Christians.

Here’s our story:

My husband’s father is not a believer.

Neither are any of his uncles on that side of the family. He barely saw his grandparents because they lived a few states away. In addition, his parents divorced when he was only one, disconnecting him from that side of the family. I simply took this in stride after we were married and didn’t wonder too much about it.

We spent more time with my side of the family anyway since the traditions there were more concrete. However, after having children, I began to think more about their heritage. I wanted to help them feel proud about their last name, which is not a common American last name. It was my last name now as well, and eventually, my curiosity got the better of me.

This led me to some quick internet searches on my husband’s ancestors. I was surprised by what I found! At least three of the Dutch-German relatives I discovered had been reverends, one even beginning his preaching career at the age of 23 and preaching for over 40 years. This connection to faith in Christ was a wonderful revelation to us. It helped us to realize that his side of the family did have a heritage of faith after all!

Knowing that those ancestors would have been encouraged to see that their faith, which had seemed to be forgotten for two generations, was once again flourishing in their descendants was encouraging to us. It spurred us on to keep up the good fight and to continue passing this legacy of following God on to our own children and grandchildren.

It also reminded us that God builds the church, and nothing can prevail against that, as Jesus states in Matthew 16:18.

The circumstances of these ancestors’ immigration from Germany to America also revealed to us their desire to maintain their faith and to provide their children with freedom of worship. We are the grateful recipients of what was, no doubt, a sacrifice on their part. Due to their willingness to leave their mother country and come to homestead in a new land, we were born free to worship God.

This can give us courage and gratitude daily. We can tell our children that their great-great-great-great grandparents are cheering them on in their faith from heaven. Looking forward, we know that there will be family members in heaven with whom we can share stories of God’s goodness.

What an exciting discovery!

How wonderful for our kids to know that they have descended from a family that was rooted in faith for many generations. This also gives fresh hope for the salvation of family members who currently do not believe.

With each of these ancestral pastors having numerous children, we can now assume that many distant relatives in other parts of the country carry on a faith that these ancestors themselves carried. We look forward to discovering more about these men, their wives, and their children and how God has blessed them and kept His truth spreading through their family lines.

Often, our faith can feel lonely when we don’t have believing parents, aunts and uncles, or cousins. Family gatherings can be a challenge. Discovering the truth about my husband’s heritage was a gift and a wonderful tool for witnessing to unbelieving family members. Everyone loves talking about family history! We found photos online and stories of doctors, educators, and farmers. We even found a few old diary entries.

Discovering where our family members had lived provided ideas for travel and language studies, as well as some giggles over unique names. The opportunity to discover and rekindle old family traditions encourages us to keep delving into the history of these men and women from our past who honored God with their lives.

Maybe you don’t feel connected to your past like we didn’t. After all, it is complicated to go back and search for lost information. The tradition of leaving genealogies in Bibles seems to be a thing of the past. However, technology is now coming to the rescue with many ways to discover the roots of our identity.

Next week, the RootsTech conference will begin. This is the world’s largest family discovery event! While over 20,000 people will likely attend the in-person conference, you can attend the online version for free at https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registration/.

If you desire to learn more about your family’s story, consider checking out RootsTech. With only a simple, no-cost sign-up process, you can learn, be inspired, and make connections through your family history. You may even meet living relatives who possess photographs, diaries, or stories to share.

Hosted by FamilySearch, RootsTech offers expert classes, tips, and inspiring stories that can help you experience family history like never before.

Consider checking out the FREE online conference to get started or visit their on-demand learning library. You can also find more interactive events online here.