Looking Forward, Backward, and UPWARD!

Psalm 61:1-5
¹ Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
² From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
⁴ I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah
⁵ For you have heard my vows, O God;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

What an incredible blessing to have a heritage of those who fear the name of the Lord! Psalm 103 says "But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children's children." I never met my great-grandparents, and my grandparents live rather far away, so I am not always aware of the numerous benefits I receive from previous generations. But I was raised by wonderful, godly parents, and they were both raised in loving homes where Christ was honored, because their parents were brought up by God-fearing Christians, too.
Now, I am very proud of my heritage, loving the traditions, food, language and history of the various nationalities of my great-grandparents, but my family's greatest legacy is not in ethnicity or culture. Ephesians 2 says "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one... So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household... For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name" From generation to generation, my family has impressed upon their children the magnificence of God, the mercy of Christ, and the imperative to follow, love, honor and serve the LORD, from whom all blessings flow. I am a member of the household of God, as are my parents, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents. This is the foundation my family has been based on for over a century. This is my heritage.
Such great history brings with it a high calling. The message has been passed down through the generations to me, and now it is my responsibility to pass it on. As David said in Psalm 76:
² I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old-
³ what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
⁵ He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
⁶ so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷ Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
The responsibility is huge. I am realizing that if my children's hearts depend on my faithful example and witness, they're in trouble, because I am not consistent in my spiritual life. I am not consistently a person worth emulating, nor do I feel qualified to teach--to be the primary source of truth in a child's life! For this reason, I find myself echoing David's cry from Psalm 61 (see the beginning of the post), that God would hear my prayer, that He would lead me to a rock that is higher than I, that I would dwell in HIS tents forever and sing beneath the shelter of His wings. I can't manage such a responsibility on my own, but I am so thankful that God, who has been our dwelling place throughout all generations, is willing to be my dwelling place, as well!!!