The New Frontier - Mini-Adventure

Huntstory: Family Origin Vs. True Origin

This month, we want you to explore your family origin for your mini-adventure. We said "To know who we are, we must know where we come from." We can apply that same idea to our family's origin and glean unique insights about our "family identity" today. Our family origin has a major impact on our present-day beliefs, actions, and struggles. Though the "untreaded" parts of that trail are worth exploring someday, we don't really recommend you go there now.

We want you to keep this "HUNTstory" mini-adventure light and fun. Focus on the facts and positive values of your family origin: how did your family come to America? Have you ever had a member fight in a war? What did your great-great-grandpa do for a living? What did your dad teach you that you still value highly today? These paint a picture of who our families are and how we have become that "family identity" without diving into the wounds, hurts, and trauma of the past.

Now, one thing to keep in mind. Our family origins are incredibly diverse. Some of us have complicated family history or don't know our history at all. That's okay. As you explore your family origins, you may learn some history or facts that make you proud of your last name. Unfortunately, you're also bound to learn parts of your family origin that you'd rather bury in the backyard and never talk about again. Here is the amazing truth that we MUST keep in mind as we explore family origins: our family origin can SHAPE our present FAMILY identity, but it does not DEFINE our TRUE identity. Let me give you an example of this in my (Chris) life.

My Grandpa Bishop was an amazing, tender, and loving man. As a student of and follower of Jesus, he taught me so many important things about what it meant to be a man. He was also a veteran of WW2 and served for 3.5 years in the Pacific as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He saw things and experienced things that are unimaginable. When I was a young man, he would share war stories with me, and even 50+ years later he would weep. I learned courage, love of country, and honor from Grandpa, and yet what I did not learn how to be was a warrior.

How could such a hero not teach me that? Well, when he came home, much of the "fight" was out of him. The war "took it out of him." He wanted peace and quiet, for himself and his family. He would often say - "I fought so you would not have to." His story and choices SHAPED our family identity (quiet, reserved, conflict avoidant at times), but it didn't DEFINE who I chose to be later in life. From others, I learned I needed to be a fighter-that I needed to be a warrior-for my heart, my family's hearts, and others. It is a part of who I was created to be as God's image bearer. Knowing Grandpa's story helped me understand why Papaw did not impart this to me or our family, but that didn't keep me from stepping into that key aspect of my identity.

Yes, our family origin (story) is the key to understanding why our family is the way it is (our family identity), but only our True Origin can unshakingly DEFINE who we are made to be. Remember, we were created by the hands and from the heart of a good God to be little images of him upon this earth. That True Origin defines our identity, not our family's origin or history. No matter what our family origin is, we can trust and rely on that immutable truth. As you explore your family origins, please keep this in mind. It will help keep the mini-adventure light, fun, and freeing. We gave your dad some ideas of HOW to explore your family origin together, so we'll pass the baton off to him. Enjoy the adventure! :)

Here are the optional recommendations we gave:

Reach out to an elder in your family and ask them to tell you their story. (See the "Discussion" for helpful questions.)
Do research on your family together. You can look at family documents (letters, notes, histories, etc.). Research your family name on a site like Ancestry.com. Go to physical sites that mean something to your family. Contact a family member who can give you info about your family. (See the "Discussion" for helpful questions.)
Choose to do a mix of both. Interview an elder, and then explore family history beyond them using the avenues in option two.