The latest book to grace my night stand is Once Upon A Lifetime. Written by Helen Janssen (my mother’s oldest sister), this book weaves the tale of my family’s early history in Wisconsin. It shares the stories of my ancestor’s trials: harsh and brutal winters, epidemics that ended the lives of many young children, the pain of soldiers going off to the Civil War, and a fire that wiped out a whole settlement. The book describes living off the land and doing so without many resources and sometimes in the face of great hardship.
This book also expresses the deeply rooted values of my family: the strong faith that carried them through their darkest days, their belief in service to their community, and their willingness to be there for people in need. It speaks to their strong value in knowledge and education, their gratitude even in the face of adversity, and the importance they placed on family. Even though they lived a life that would be described as poverty, it was not a word that was used in my family. My grandmother said that poverty is a state of mind. These values are their legacy, and something I desire to live out in my own life. Something I wish to pass on to my daughters.
In my book, I’d Rather Love Life Than Hate Cancer, I write about living a life of abundance rather than living a life of deprivation. I think my ancestors were grinning and giving me a thumb’s up as I typed that chapter out on my laptop. I believe, like my early family, that we can approach life with spiritual abundance, believing that all we need will be provided for us. This does not mean we just put our feet up and chill out. It means we do the foot work involved in our life and trust that God will provide what we need.
Living a life of abundance means living a life of gratitude. A few weeks ago, I wrote that I was lamenting another possible cancer diagnosis, but that in the same moment I was experiencing gratitude for the life I have. After reading my Aunt Helen’s book, I think that kind of gratitude must be in my genetic code. In their most challenging times, my family found a way to look for ways to embrace gratitude. The bitter winter night brought the promise of spring. I also believe that gratitude gets to be a choice, a focus. This is the legacy of my early family; to remember that in our times of trial, we can choose gratitude. As I wait for my biopsy day to arrive, I will attend to the many blessings I have in my life, those from this lifetime, and the lifetimes that went before me.
Pictured above: Aunt Marion, Grandpa Pete, my Mother, Aunt Helen, Grandma Pete
