Week #28 - Can't Deny Your Heritage

In my late teens and early twenties, whenever I was doing something I KNEW to be wrong, my dad would just look at me with hurt in his eyes and simply say, "You can't deny your heritage." I'm not sure, to this day, whether it was what he said, the way he said it, or the look in his eyes that hurt me the most.

Today, being the 24th of July, is a huge celebration in a small population of the world, but particularly those in the U.S.. No, it's not the celebration of our country's independence, but an independence of another sort. It's the independence and the courage of the pioneers that helped to settle the Utah Valley. The courage those men and women had along with way, pulling handcarts, walking mile after mile, losing loved ones to weather, illness, or who knows what else along the way, causes me to reflect on my own heritage.

I don't know if I have "true" pioneer heritage of those that walked across the plains of this country in my family, but I do have pioneer heritage. My mom is a convert to the Church. She is the only member of her family that ever joined the Church. SHE is a pioneer! If it wasn't for her, my life - if at all - would be very different. She had the courage to blaze her own trails in this life, join the church (even when her mother tried to talk her out of it), and take a leap of faith to join a religion (and lifestyle completely different from anything she had known before) that some in her family thought she was foolish for doing so. Even though she had this criticism and ridicule coming her way, she still went ahead and became a pioneer. No else has joined the church, in this life, because of her. But, she has had several opportunities to set examples, answer questions, and help others to understand what it is about our Church that makes us different or "peculiar".

I'm grateful that I've had cause to reflect on my heritage and what has happened in my life over the years. I'm grateful for my mother and the pioneer heritage she has given to me. Most importantly, I'm grateful that my dad was (and still is) wise enough to remind me when I was taking up more of the "straight and narrow" path than what I should have, to remind me that no matter how hard I try I could never "deny my heritage".