Who knows why our thoughts wander where they do ? I have had a nagging thought for a few days. Perhaps it was triggered by an old photo or a casual remark. Maybe it is the result of recent events. Whatever the cause, the thought persists. Our lives are so tenuous, from beginning to end, they are fragile. We can be gone in an instant. But what I am thinking about is how I got here in the first place. That is the result of researching the family tree. My tree is just one in the forest of humanity. Trees don't grow forever but the seeds can spread life. We are those seeds. Through chance, care, circumstance, or divine providence we survived to grow.
I don't know the whole story just a small portion. You see, great, great grandmother Sarah arrived in town when she was 18 years old. She came to be a servant to a wealthy farmer. Eleven years later, she passed. She lies in the shadow of the windmill that has become the symbol for the town. The town where she came to begin her life, and the town where it ended. She met and married great, great grandfather Charles in that town. That was in 1875 when she was 25. In Aug of 1876 she had a daughter, by September of that same year, Jennie her daughter, was gone. Sarah went on to have a son in April of 1878. On Jan 30, 1879 Sarah was laid to rest beside her daughter in the shadow of that mill. Her son Floyd, my great grandfather went to live with his fathers sister. Floyd would marry Lucy Terry in 1894. They had three children together, the last being my grandmother Clara, born in 1904. Clara married in 1921 at the age of 16, in less than four years she would pass. My father was her last born son.
I am here as a result of that history. Sarah came to town in 1868. That started a chain of events that lead to my birth in 1953. And all of that is just one tiny branch. Had Sarah not taken the job at Hedges farm I wouldn't be here telling the story. It is a tiny thread indeed that binds our lives. Each of our stories are unique. Subtle details may be lost over time but each story is different. If you have older or younger siblings talk to them, listen to their story, you will be surprised. The story will not be the same as yours. Great, great grandmother Sarah was only with us four years. Her impact can not be ignored though. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here. Or, would I ? That is a question that will be left unanswered. Are each of us fated to be here, or is it pure chance ? What I'm asking here is, would each of us still be here, just with a different name ? I do believe we are all the fruit of the same tree. Scientists agree we are all of the same species. As to whether we " evolved " or not I am not troubled by that discussion. I believe we were created and that didn't just happen by chance. I subscribe to the theory that intelligent life and intelligent order must be created by intelligence, not chance. But that is another topic entirely.
I know one thing for sure, life is short. Everyone is important and each life precious. If they are only here for an instant, they have changed things. There are things we will never understand. Take little Jennie for instance, here for less than a month. Why ? We will never know that answer. Jennies' brother Floyd would live to be ninety. Was that in compensation for lost lives ? Chance or fated ? I have to believe it is a plan, intelligently devised and unstoppable. I can't believe anyone is here just by coincidence. Life isn't coincidental. Life is the result of deliberate action, the taking of it should not be.
I don't know the whole story just a small portion. You see, great, great grandmother Sarah arrived in town when she was 18 years old. She came to be a servant to a wealthy farmer. Eleven years later, she passed. She lies in the shadow of the windmill that has become the symbol for the town. The town where she came to begin her life, and the town where it ended. She met and married great, great grandfather Charles in that town. That was in 1875 when she was 25. In Aug of 1876 she had a daughter, by September of that same year, Jennie her daughter, was gone. Sarah went on to have a son in April of 1878. On Jan 30, 1879 Sarah was laid to rest beside her daughter in the shadow of that mill. Her son Floyd, my great grandfather went to live with his fathers sister. Floyd would marry Lucy Terry in 1894. They had three children together, the last being my grandmother Clara, born in 1904. Clara married in 1921 at the age of 16, in less than four years she would pass. My father was her last born son.
I am here as a result of that history. Sarah came to town in 1868. That started a chain of events that lead to my birth in 1953. And all of that is just one tiny branch. Had Sarah not taken the job at Hedges farm I wouldn't be here telling the story. It is a tiny thread indeed that binds our lives. Each of our stories are unique. Subtle details may be lost over time but each story is different. If you have older or younger siblings talk to them, listen to their story, you will be surprised. The story will not be the same as yours. Great, great grandmother Sarah was only with us four years. Her impact can not be ignored though. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here. Or, would I ? That is a question that will be left unanswered. Are each of us fated to be here, or is it pure chance ? What I'm asking here is, would each of us still be here, just with a different name ? I do believe we are all the fruit of the same tree. Scientists agree we are all of the same species. As to whether we " evolved " or not I am not troubled by that discussion. I believe we were created and that didn't just happen by chance. I subscribe to the theory that intelligent life and intelligent order must be created by intelligence, not chance. But that is another topic entirely.
I know one thing for sure, life is short. Everyone is important and each life precious. If they are only here for an instant, they have changed things. There are things we will never understand. Take little Jennie for instance, here for less than a month. Why ? We will never know that answer. Jennies' brother Floyd would live to be ninety. Was that in compensation for lost lives ? Chance or fated ? I have to believe it is a plan, intelligently devised and unstoppable. I can't believe anyone is here just by coincidence. Life isn't coincidental. Life is the result of deliberate action, the taking of it should not be.
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