Reflections

It was a year ago that Ma Belle died one Sunday. The next Sunday PaPa died. It's taken a year to say good bye to go through the house that PaPa built and make decisions about what to do with what was left behind. Some of the furniture that belonged to Ma Belle and PaPa is at my house now. They had inherited it from their grandparents perhaps someday my grandchildren will inherit it from me.

 I see my reflection in the antique mirror and I think about the generations that have gone before me who saw themselves in this glass and the generations who will see their reflections after I am gone. As I look into the glass and reflect on those who once saw their own image here I realize how much they blessed and shaped the woman I see staring back at me.

I found another mirror that has been passed down through the generations. I found the family Bible. The was given to James Hardeman Sneed and Margaret C. Wilkerson on December 5 1863. The note from their grandson reads in flowery script:
My Grandmother's and Grandfather's Bible
The source of knowledge  and wisdom inspiration and dedication.
Given me by my Beloved Sister Mary December 25, 1974 
Samuel Hardeman Jones

From generation to generation those who have gone before have looked into the mirror of God's word to see a reflection of who they really were. As Great Granddaddy said it has been, "The source of knowledge and wisdom and dedication." The refection that has been seen through the generations in the Family Bible is different from the reflections see in the antique mirror. They could only see an external reflection with the antique mirror but when they gazed into the Word of God they saw a reflection of their soul. The inheritance gained from Ma Belle and PaPa has not simply been the contents of their home but the spiritual inheritance of those who did not simply glance at the mirror of God Word but peered deeply into until they found their lives transformed by what they saw.

Lord Jesus, as I reflect on the lives of those who have gone before me I want to thank You for the example they gave me. I pray that someday when I am remembered by my children and grandchildren they will see someone who was transformed by spending time before the mirror of Your Word.