– Scripture:

                 Being Given the Hand of Blessing

God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back, I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful I can’t take it all in!

                               PSALMS 139:1-6 MSG

– Reflection:

Reading the Bible’s Old Testament, when a father was about to pass away, he would have his kids around him. In many of those conversations, if you have paid attention, the Dad is able to give wisdom to his children and, in the later hours, speak to his wife about how things should work once he is gone to the other side. Those are blessings the Dad is passing on; we call them nuggets, jewels, that only the ones that have sustained a life can pass on. We don’t have that today, so dads give those nuggets to your sons, and uncles give those nuggets to your nephews and nieces to ensure they know how to carry themselves going forward. There has to be a foundation that the family can work from once Dad or Mom has gone on to Christ. I think it was called “The Laying of Hands” that made the transfer of power and healing. If you are a part of the body of Christ, then this is passed on to you daily; God has his hands on you daily, and this gives us the ability to overcome a lot. What God has for you nobody can stop or replace with negativity.

Where do we go from here?

Each one teaches one; I know for me there are several men that I have looked to for guidance since my dad passed on. There are nuggets that he gave me, but there is still the completion of my climb for my manhood, my son’s manhood, and also my young grandson. That’s three generations that need to keep a foundation for our family to remain protected. Community, going into the New Year, begin building that foundation for your family that will allow you guys to pass through time protected. Ensure that each nugget, each helping conversation for healing, can be passed on to the next to honor it. For me and our family, I know I am attached to my father-in-law and my men’s group at the different organizations I am a part of, and I take the younger generations along with me to learn the ways of what is to come and what has happened already. My daughters reach out to my wife and their aunts, along with others, with information to aid them in moving forward, and the same thing is true for my sisters as well.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank you for the foundations and the history of family that you have left in the Bible for us to follow. We appreciate all the guidance and blessings that are given to us daily through our fathers, fathers-in-law, uncles, older brothers, and brothers of the church. It allows us to continue a growth trend for our families and our comminuties that is positive and helpful to the next generation. With all the power you have within you and have given to us we are able to say. Amen.