40 to 40 (Gratitude 27)

I am grateful for my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Richardson, giving me a love of history. She was so passionate about it and she helped instill a passion for it in me as well. I remember acting out various segments of Ohio history in her class with forts behind desks and Indians attacking.

More than that, I am grateful for that love of history because it gave me a way of connecting with my grandfather Brooke. Until I was about 10, I don't think that I really connected with him. Then one day at lunch, I was talking about learning about Zane's Trace in Mrs. Richardson's class. He said that Zane's Trace (the first road through the wilderness) was right outside the front door. Indeed, he took us down the road a piece to a marker that marked where a lodge had been built on that first road through the wilderness.

He began showing us arrow heads he found working the fields and telling us all about his little piece of Ohio. From there it grew to sharing about family history. He had a great love for genealogy that had been passed on by his father. They could trace the family tree all the way back to the 1500's in England and the first Brooke (Robert Brooke) immigrant who came with his family to settle in Maryland.

So, why the love of history was nice, the connecting point with my grandfather was even sweeter.

Zane's Trace and Hope -- Hope Chronicles 65

When I was in the fourth grade, I took Ohio history. At some point, I was sharing with my grandfather about Zane's Trace. Zane's Trace was reportedly the first road through the wilderness. But my grandfather had a surprise for me. Zane's Trace was the country road right out front. He took all of the grandchildren down a mile or two to a marker noting this historic fact. Zane's trace came into being because a few walked or rode a path through the wilderness. Others followed. Now, there is a highway.

We live in a world of tragedy and despair. It's all around us: school shootings, 9/11, the need for "Homeland Security," the economy, the worry about tomorrow. Okay, I worry about tomorrow. There are bills to pay and relationships to try to build and maintain. I even worry about the cats. Both of my cats are healthy and likely to live long lives -- possibly another 12-14 years because they are indoor cats. But still, occasionally, I catch myself with the thought, "What if something happened to one of them." Given their health, it's a worry without need.

Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. In Matthew 6:13 He says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Sound advice. Take care of today and leave tomorrow for itself.

But this takes discipline and walking out hope. For hope for a brighter tomorrow (heaven and being in the presence of God's glory) is what eventually awaits all who believe.

Hope is like Zane's Trace. Lin Yutang said the following about hope:

"Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence."

How will you walk in hope today? Can you put off the worry about tomorrow and live in the moment? Or if you do look ahead, can you see God's promised glory? If you walk in hope your attitude will change and those around you might just follow.




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