Power from the Past and Power to Change the Past

Hanna. Mary. Sarah. William. Carl. Philip. Jane. Marie. Rosine.  While I have never met these people, their DNA runs through my body and their blood through my veins. What were their wishes, hopes and dreams? Their fears and weaknesses? How much of their soul aspirations and struggles mirror mine?  How do they help me now as I stand at the crossroads between them and my children? How do I help them?

I read recently the story of Edwin, a pioneer ancestor of mine. He was on the pioneer trail and the company had not had meat for days. He was assigned to find the deer they had seen previously. Edwin was an excellent marksman, found the deer and quickly brought it down. Almost simultaneously he heard the wolves who began chasing him. He ran as fast as he could to the deer, quickly quartered it, put three pieces in a tree and packed the fourth to take back to camp. The howling wolves came closer and closer until it felt like they were on his heels. Edwin prayed. The thought almost as a voice came to his mind to turn around and shoot the wolf leader. He turned around and fired right between the leaders eyes, and the pack immediately fell on the fresh meat. He was able to safely get back to camp to share the meat and then go back to get the deer in the tree.  

I love this! It gives me courage as I face things that threaten to destroy me. I feel a renewed sense of divine caring and love, knowing I can pray for answers too. When my challenges look impossible, I think of Edwin and his capacity to keep trying even when it looked like all was lost. I draw strength from the past. My past. A dear friend said: 

The more stories you know, the more real the people become, and the more they become part of your family. And it starts to feel like you have a cheering section of family members who have made it through hard things and who know you can too!

It is also true that generational challenges can be passed on to us.  Dr. Judith Rich said:

As you step to the front of the line in your ancestry, the energy they embodied has been passed on and is now expressing as you and those of your current generation in the lineage. As you transform, the energy of the entire lineage preceding you is transformed, for it is all happening now through you, as you. You are the one who can heal old wounds for your entire lineage, forgive old enemies, shift conditioning and beliefs, release pain that has held preceding generations captive for centuries.   https://www.huffpost.com/entry/healing-the-wounds-of-you_b_853632

So my personal struggles may ultimately be my victory. I can change it for those going back, and those following me. Any generational tendencies towards resentment, anger, addictions or any other unhealthy character trait or generational weaknesses becomes my personal battle ground to save thousands, maybe more. What an intriguing idea! I not only have the baton passed to make changes now, but healing goes back through the generations and forward to my children. As we make the trek to overcome any bitter past, we free those before and after us. I alone make the choice. This is one of the most powerful and liberating ideas of our day. 

There is an infinite capacity to influence others by looking to those before us, lovingly embrace and embody their victories, claiming them as our own. There is also eternal meaning and power in persistently overcoming generational challenges, freeing those before and after us.