My maternal grandfather was Genaro Galdámez. I don’t know anything about him except from what I can see from a picture I acquired. My mom told me very little about him. By the time I was born he was no longer alive. My maternal grandmother was Estebana Zamora. I have very few memories of her but nothing substantial. I have a couple of pictures of her. From my paternal side I knew my grandmother Concha, as they called her. I knew her very little as well. I have no idea who was my paternal grandfather.
The cycle of life tells us that most of will not be remembered in a few generations. Unless we are a famous person with a memorial, or a writer, or become an important figure, very little will be remembered about us and we will be eventually forgotten. We will be forgotten from the land of the living. I will be forgotten. My little girl who is almost ten and the youngest in our family will probably get married and have kids. God willing, I may know her kids but two generations later I will be forgotten. My written journals and other writings will mean very little to them. Maybe this to you is just a fact of life but deep within us we all long to be remembered and even cherished. But maybe not, but this doesn’t change reality.
As I was thinking about this I asked myself, “What will it matter to me if I wont’ be here?” It won’t. As I was thinking about all of this it made me realize how transient our lives are. I am about to turn fifty years old and my mortality is more real day to day. Scripture is clear that all of us have been appointed a day to die. (Heb. 9:27). Then comes eternity. The Bible is clear that those who have trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior will never die. (John 11:25). They will be with him forever. We will be known by Him and we will know Him forever. Our story will continue with Him. Forever. I am comforted by this. How should this affect me now?
What I do NOW matters NOW. Christian ethics teaches me that my life should be other-centered more than self-centered. But this is only possible because of Christ in me. His love compels me. It also matters because it matters to God and I will get to revisit with Him my time on this Planet in the future.
There is something else that helps my hopelessness. Even now as I write these things I am reminded of the fact that God doesn’t forget me. I may forget Him but he doesn’t. He knew me before the world began. He chose me to be his child forever. (Eph. 1:4-5) He knows me perfectly including my future with Him which also includes a bunch of others who are part of His family. He remembers me... There is no period at the end.
“Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,the Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you!” Isaiah 49:14-15 (NET bible)
The cycle of life tells us that most of will not be remembered in a few generations. Unless we are a famous person with a memorial, or a writer, or become an important figure, very little will be remembered about us and we will be eventually forgotten. We will be forgotten from the land of the living. I will be forgotten. My little girl who is almost ten and the youngest in our family will probably get married and have kids. God willing, I may know her kids but two generations later I will be forgotten. My written journals and other writings will mean very little to them. Maybe this to you is just a fact of life but deep within us we all long to be remembered and even cherished. But maybe not, but this doesn’t change reality.
As I was thinking about this I asked myself, “What will it matter to me if I wont’ be here?” It won’t. As I was thinking about all of this it made me realize how transient our lives are. I am about to turn fifty years old and my mortality is more real day to day. Scripture is clear that all of us have been appointed a day to die. (Heb. 9:27). Then comes eternity. The Bible is clear that those who have trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior will never die. (John 11:25). They will be with him forever. We will be known by Him and we will know Him forever. Our story will continue with Him. Forever. I am comforted by this. How should this affect me now?
What I do NOW matters NOW. Christian ethics teaches me that my life should be other-centered more than self-centered. But this is only possible because of Christ in me. His love compels me. It also matters because it matters to God and I will get to revisit with Him my time on this Planet in the future.
There is something else that helps my hopelessness. Even now as I write these things I am reminded of the fact that God doesn’t forget me. I may forget Him but he doesn’t. He knew me before the world began. He chose me to be his child forever. (Eph. 1:4-5) He knows me perfectly including my future with Him which also includes a bunch of others who are part of His family. He remembers me... There is no period at the end.
“Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,the Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you!” Isaiah 49:14-15 (NET bible)
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| My maternal grandmother and grandfather on the front right. |
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| My mom on her last birthday at 87. |
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