In our home, we talked about our ancestors last month, and building ancestor relationships has blessed our family. My kids feel confident that their ancestors are helping them all the time, which I love. Last year, I shared four simple ways to connect kids with ancestors. We used these ideas again last month, but we added a few things that I wanted to share with you. Plus, today is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing, and so now is the perfect time to relate family history and the first Thanksgiving.
Use Images
We received this image of a boy surrounded by angels in his bed during a storm. It was in the Friend magazine last month, and I hung it up in our basement. I cannot express how much this picture solidified the idea of angels for my daughter. She has talked about this picture in family scripture study so many times.
She feels confident that her ancestors will protect her during hard times, so building ancestor relationships has helped her to feel safe and confident in the power of God and his angels.
Put Your Ancestors in History
I’ve been reading about the American Revolution, and I recently went through my family tree on Family Search and discovered some ancestors who were alive and involved in the revolution. Reading more about them and the revolution at the same time, has helped me in building ancestor relationships. I’ve gained so much love and empathy for their situation. And I have increased confidence in my ability to face tough situations and world instability, because I know it’s been done before. And I love that I can share that confidence with my kids and hopefully help them have a hopeful world view.
Now is a great time to put your ancestors in history, because it’s the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower. You can use this Mayflower Database to discover if you are descended from any of the original settlers. There are 35 million descendants! So your chances are decent. This site was put together by FamilySearch International, AmericanAncestors.org, and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and it is incredible. You can learn about the all of the passengers and take a tour of the ship.
Being Blessed
I have felt an increased awareness of my ancestors the past two years. When I was pregnant with our fourth child, I felt strongly that we should give him a family name. His birth was an incredible experience with the power of our Savior and his angels.
And as I’ve read more about the lives of our ancestors, I have been building ancestor relationships, which is blessing my life and our family through the peace and power of their presence in our home, in stories and in spirit.