Passing On the Stories

Philippians 1: 3 “I thank my God every time I remember you.”


This email (abridged) from Ellen Smith, our missionary in Russia was was forwarded through my church .

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord!

We have such news, again, that we wanted to share it with you. … earlier this month, we asked for your prayers for Victor, the musician in Vyazma who lost two fingers in a work accident... When we heard the story, we contacted a friend at FPC Columbus, GA, who has told us about the guitar ministry of ... The Luthier’s Gift, to see if they could give us any advice about left-handed guitars and retraining. Glen, the founder of The Luthier’s Gift, wasn’t sure what was available in Moscow, but shared that there were books on chords, etc. Al went looking for left-handed guitars in Moscow, but didn’t find what he was looking for, so we put this on the back burner...

This past week ... we received an extraordinary email. A Russian youth team was visiting Columbus, GA, having traveled to Triennium ... On the last day of their visit, Andre, one member of team was visiting Glen’s guitar shop. That same day, a left-handed guitar had come in on consignment. The pieces clicked in Glen’s mind. He called the owner... who immediately donated it to Victor. Andre brought it back to Russia. Meg, our 19 year old, met Andre at the airport ... Pavel, pastor of the church in Vyazma, will come into Moscow and carry it back to Victor. So many hands have lovingly touched this guitar along the way (to) reach Victor, so that he can begin the process of relearning his beloved instrument, and again serve the Lord with music! …

Love and blessings,
Ellen

In Bob Barnes book, 15 Minutes Alone With God for Men, (Barnes, 1995) he writes about a moment with his grandson. “Someday, when PaPa's in heaven and you drive down this street as a man, you'll look at this bench we are sitting on and remember the day that Grammy Em and Christine served us jam and toast with a glass of juice.”

“Not only will I remember, but I'll bring my son and someday he'll bring his son and point to the bench and tell him about the toast and jam we ate under that big avocado tree over there.” Quite an insight from a seven-year-old. He sensed the need to sustain the continuity of our personal history.

A significant part of my history involves teaching. It is the opening of the new school year, and for the first time in 30 years I am not there. It is a odd feeling, and I have been thinking about school, the kids and teachers. I wonder how they remember me or if they will remember me at all.

How will the students remember the teachers they have this year? Positive or negative? Will it be about the class, the subject, or the teacher? Many of the students I had attended multiple schools and had multiple teachers. Did one of their teachers stand out among them? Was it me? I have had students come back and tell me things we had done or studied. They ask if I am still using an activity like a speech or mock trial, something I made a big deal out of, but those are not the typical questions.

This past spring, Gabriel, a former student was substituting at my school, and the first thing he asked me was, “Where's your hat?” Of all the things he could have remembered, he asked about my lack of a hat. Such a small thing, but it to him it wasn't; it was part of who I was to him. He did not ask me about what I had done; it was about who I am. Thinking about who I am as a teacher led to thinking of who I am as a parent and grandparent – a teacher of my children and grandchildren.

I hear my own sons, now grown men with families of their own, relating memories of their childhood. Sometimes, they tell stories going back to my youth that they have heard from me. Do those stories tell something of who we are? What we choose to do reveals the people we are. What would I want my grandchildren to know or remember of me? Is it we did or the person I am? Most of us probably want some of both. What do you want your children and grandchildren to pass on about you?

What are the stories you tell them? Are there stories they ask to hear again and again? There are stories of which my kids say, “Yeah, Dad, we've heard that one.” and sometimes finish it for me. The stories we tell repeatedly must be important to us. What is it I want my family to hear, and what stories have I not told, unintentionally or not. Later in his book, Bob Barnes writes about the “... privilege and responsibility we parents have to be called to teach our children and grandchildren the story of God's love, the stories of Jesus...” Do your stories include these? If our children or grandchildren are not hearing these stories, what can we do? What are our responsibilities? Are we living up to them?

I have children who are not raising their children in the church. They are not taking their kids to church or expressing their faith if it still exists. One of my sons said, “They are going to let their kids make the decision for themselves when they come of age.” How, I ask, can they make a decision about a faith they have never heard about? My grandchildren are among millions who are not hearing the stories and for whom the faith is not alive. It all boils down to the question, “How can we expect to keep our faith alive when our children aren't hearing the stories?” Perhaps, it is as simple as if you need a good story to tell, relate a good old Bible story that deserves re-telling. Perhaps, but I don't think so. It is not simply the stories they need to hear; it is our expression of faith in those stories that is important.

It is not always easy to weave a Bible story into a conversation, but telling a story like “Victor's Story” can be. We have all the elements of a classic Good Samaritan story: the present day setting outside Moscow. Victor the injured guitarist, who plays to serve the Lord; a host of Good Samaritans, Ellen and Al, the missionaries whose prayer and faith started the chain of events leading to Victor's recovery; Glen, the founder of The Luthier’s Gift; the owner who donated the guitar; and Andre, Meg and Pavel who transported the guitar to Victor. There is the futility of Al's search for a guitar in Moscow. Above all, we have God's hand in the climatic illusion of coincidence that took Andre to Glen's store the day after a left-handed guitar was consigned. Lastly, there is the untold conclusion of how Victor moves on in life. It is a conclusion that will be determined by faith alone.

We are surrounded by faith stories such as these; we have but to share them to start passing our stories and our faith to our children and grandchildren. I say to you again, “It is not just the stories they need to hear; it is the expression of our faith in those stories that is important.” We need to be the conveyers of our faith. If not us, who will it be?

* Barnes, B. (1995). 15 minutes alone with god for men. Eugene, OR: Harvest House.
** Giles, G. (2009). The Luthier's gift. Retrieved from http://www.luthiersgift.com/thegift.php

"Passing on the Stories"
Copyright © Michael McCabe 2010
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