Spiritual Heritage

Spiritual Heritage

As I sit down to write this update, my mind is filled with many things I have learned or been challenged with during my short time in Venezuela. Not the least of which is the reality of one’s “spiritual heritage.” Sure, I’m familiar with the phrase, but I’ve never understood just how blessed I really have been, until now.
In Venezuela, the first questions asked when becoming acquainted with someone are not work related but deal with the family. This is the conversation I had the other night with a sister in the church after opening introductions. “Nice to meet you, Anthony. And your mom, is she a Christian?”
To which I responded with a rather complacent, “Yes, yes she is.”
I was slightly taken aback, then, when she gave a resounding, “Praise the Lord!” followed quickly by, “And your father, does he know the Lord?”
“Of course he does,” my head responded, but I managed to say, “Why, yes, he’s a Christian too,” my voice not anywhere close to matching her excitement level.
“Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins?” the questions came as quickly as I could answer them.
“Yes, yes, and yes. My whole family is Christian, and we have been for many years.” And then, partly for fun (to see her reaction) and partly because I couldn’t think of what I really wanted to say in Spanish, I said, “We’ve just been lucky I guess.”
Another lady who had been listening shot back, “No, you have not. You know that don’t you? God has blessed your family. Luck has nothing to do with it.”
Yes, I do know that, but do I believe it? Conversations like this have opened my eyes to how blessed I really am. Coming into a Latin American culture, I guessed that my most enviable quality (besides my brilliantly blue eyes) would be my Americanism. Not so. I have talked to an incredible number of people who are the only Christians in their family. Thus, their greatest desire and passion is for the souls of their spouses, children, and parents. That makes a family like mine seem like the ultimate gift.
I can’t help but feel a little guilty as I listen to these people share their longing for their family with me. Not because of what I have been blessed with, but because of my failure to appreciate that blessing. My “spiritual heritage” is all I have ever known, and, unfortunately, I have proceeded to take it for granted. Needless to say, my eyes have been forced open. I am thanking God for the family that I have been blessed with, and I pray that these brothers and sisters will one day be able to experience the same reality.