“Earn it.” Chuck Colson concludes his Doing The Right Thing* video series on ethics with the famous line from “Saving Private Ryan.” It reminds me of the series I’m posting in my blog on “The Heritage.” We all have a heritage, and we all leave a heritage. Our lives are privileged to rest on the history of those who have gone before. How we live matters to those coming after us. We’re not just a lone individual living life for our own pleasure.
My heritage became meaningful to me years ago when my dad said to me, “It’s your heritage.” I knew at the time that those were profound words and I had to stop and do some thinking about what they meant. I thought of my earthly heritage and the heavenly heritage I have to look forward to as a child of God. Dad defines heritage as “to be loving of family and to share the blessings that God has given us with them.” That’s the earthly heritage he has always shared with me. (see 7.22.10 post)
It started out in childhood. I remember the day we brought the weeping willow tree home in Dad’s “tomato soup red” pickup. We planted it in the backyard near the garden. My brother and I could hardly wait for it to grow strong enough for us to climb. Eventually it was not only strong enough t climb, but also my dad and brother built a tree house in it. It wasn’t anything fancy, really, just some old lumber nailed together to make a platform for us to sit on.
I used to spend hours up there, dreaming the dreams of childhood. The biographies I read in that treehouse fueled my imagination. What would it have been like to be a pioneer? How brave our early statesmen were to forge a new country! We were just beginning to explore space. Would someone really walk on the moon someday? Would I? What was I going to do when I grew up? I already knew I wanted my life to count for something significant like my heroes from the books I read. My parents encouraged me to dream big and go for my dreams.
The garden was also a special place for us as children. When the corn got tall enough, we would play hide-or-seek in it. My brother and I would hide in the evenings, and Dad would come out to find us. There’s nothing like a game of hide-or-seek by moonlight! Those carefree days come back to my memory every time I go into a field to pick fresh corn. We’ve planted a big patch of corn this year and hope to pass on all the great garden traditions to our granddaughters.
Other evenings the three of us would go for bike rides. (Mom was a stay home mom, and I think she enjoyed the time alone in the evenings when Dad would play with us.) We didn’t live too far from a little creek that wove through the country-side. We used to like to ride to it and dream of fishing. Other times we would ride to a nearby shopping center. We’d window shop and buy some bubble gum to chew on the way home. We took turns playing follow the leader as we rode home.
I loved being a kid!
I realize stories like mine can seem idyllic, and even be depressing if you didn’t have such a carefree childhood. Many kids have to grow up too quickly as they take on adult responsibilities for the functioning of their home. This may be because of having only a single parent, or having neglectful or abusive parents. Many children lose their innocence when they are sexually abused. They feel something is wrong with them or the adults wouldn’t be treating them this way. They live in constant fear of when the next episode will happen. Other kids grow up in dangerous neighborhoods or have parents who are too busy for the children to be safe and free in play.
For whatever reason, many people grow up as “adult children.” They can’t think about living a meaningful life and leaving a heritage for those who come after because they never grew past important developmental markers of childhood. If that’s you, it may be helpful to give yourself permission for some carefree “play” experiences now that you know there was nothing wrong with the child your were. It was the adults in your life that robbed your childhood from you. You don’t have to bounce around as a confused and depressed adult.
I taught Interior Design in high school and middle school for a couple of years. Each term began with a simple assignment. I would bring in paint shirts, large pieces of paper and finger paint. My great big teenage students would finger pain like preschoolers. I felt that to be truly creative, my students needed permission to be uninhibited by properness and expected “coolness.” They had to know what it felt like to express themselves freely before they would be able to be creatively expressive with design elements.
I want to give you permission to be a little uninhibited and expressive, too. If it makes you feel better, take a real child along with you to “share” the experience. Then do some of the things you always wished you had done as a child. Climb a tree, fly a kite, play on all the equipment in the park, or finger-paint. (Have you ever used pudding to finger paint? My granddaughters thought it was delicious!!!)
I’m not suggesting you become like Peter Pan and deny having to grow up. It may help you to truly grow up and get on with living those big dreams to temporarily let go of the years of always having to play the adult role. You don’t always have to be the most responsible person around. Try to occasionally be free from the adult responsibilities you have carried for so many years. Relax and be yourself. You will probably find, as my students did, that some occasions of spontaneity will improve your adult creativity and give new joy to your efforts. Your childhood may have been robbed from you, but you can reclaim the carefree feelings occasionally.
It may help you to recover from a lost childhood by periodically doing something you would have really enjoyed as a child. Take the time you need to begin to enjoy childlike pleasures. It may just help you open up a whole new side of yourself that you have never known. It may give you new vision to pursue your dreams, live a meaningful life and leave a heritage for those who come after you.
When Private Ryan was told to earn the gift of life he was given, it meant to make something meaningful of his life so the sacrifice would be worth it. It didn’t mean any of us can do anything to earn the gift of new life Jesus gives to us. Jesus Himself was asked what could be done to earn eternal life. His answer in John 6:29 was, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” As we believe Jesus Christ is absolutely sufficient for every circumstance, we do the work God asks of us and make His sacrifice worth it. He’s able to assure us of His love for us no matter where we’ve come from. He’s able to forgive all our sins, and the sins against us so we can start a new life free from the past. He’s able to give us a dream big enough to fulfill His purpose for our lives. He’s able to empower us to do whatever He calls us to do. Now that’s the heritage I want to walk in now and leave for those coming after me.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1 & 2; NLT)
*DVD series Doing the Right Thing; 2011; BreakPoint Inc.; www.doingtherightthing.com. This is a great 6 session series where a panel of Christian thinkers discus ethical and moral implications for our culture. I strongly recommend all Christians view it.
