Both of my grandfathers had the same favorite hymn: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

Lately I’ve been contemplating how remarkably fitting this little family factoid is. See, one of my favorite things about hymns is their endurance. When I sing hymns, I feel connected to the generations of the faithful who have come before me and will come after me.

This particular hymn especially connects me to the faith legacy of my family.

Because my faith, no matter how personal it seems to me, did not start with me. The story of my relationship with Christ started generations ago. It’s the great faithfulness of the God my grandfathers trusted that has led that faith down to me.

Great is Thy faithfulness
O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been
Thou forever will be

March 2009

My paternal grandpa, Wayne Weston, died this week. I’m standing in church, feeling the sadness of losing him. I’m not connecting much with what’s happening, the songs that are being sung. My mind is churning- thinking of family members I need to pick up at the airport and the best shoes to wear to the funeral. Then, though it’s not common in my church to sing hymns, we begin singing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” The tears come in torrents. This was my grandpa’s song! I practically feel God’s arms wrapping around me as I stand there, singing & crying. My heart swells with thankfulness for the incredible faithfulness God showed to my grandfather throughout his lifetime, and for how my grandpa passed that faith legacy on. My grandpa may be gone, but that legacy of faithfulness is here with me.

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me

August 2017

Today we dedicate our second son, Caleb, to God at church. In a rare occurrence, my entire family is here with us – gathered from different states and different countries. As we praise God together, I get chills as I watch my 1-year-old niece raise her hands to Jesus. I’m filled with profound gratitude and peace, standing here with every member of my family, a testament to how God’s faithfulness has passed through generations. One of our church’s terrific singers stands and sings “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and I smile at how appropriate it is for this moment.

This is the faith I’m committing my son into. I’m standing in front of my church family, surrounded by my biological family and my friend-family, placing my son into this faithful cloud of witnesses. This is an “alter” I build in my mind for my son’s life – this moment recognizing our family faith that has come before and I trust will come for the next generations.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

September 2018

I’m sitting in an ICU hospital room with my parents. Yesterday my dad suffered a stroke. At this point nothing is known about how he’ll recover or what he may have permanently lost. We are all afraid, and I can see the discouragement and frustration in my dad’s eyes – fears that he may never be the same. I look in my dad’s eyes and tell him I see his discouragement & understand his pain, that though he can’t communicate clearly, I still see him & know him. Through his tears he looks so grateful to be understood.

I put a CD of hymns into my computer, and as “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” plays, I glance at my dad. He rests with his head back, eyes closed, slight smile on his lips. It’s the most at peace I’ve seen him all day. Later this afternoon he will speak his first unprompted words to me & my mom: “God is good all the time. All the time God is good.”

This is a new season in my family’s life. Nothing this scary or tragic has ever touched my family before. But I have to believe that this season is no less a witness of God’s greatness and faithfulness than all the pleasant seasons our family has enjoyed. Sitting lonely in the dark room as my dad sleeps, I can feel all the prayers that are being lifted up for my father from around the world. God’s faithfulness remains.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

October 2018

My maternal grandpa, LeRoy Musselman, died this week at the age of 94. My mind keeps returning to Christmas 2013, the last time every one of my grandpa’s descendents were all together, as we celebrated his upcoming 90th birthday. We all sat around my cousin’s family room sharing stories and memories about grandpa – things we appreciated & loved about him. Grandpa & Grandma smiled and laughed and shared their own stories about dating and their early life together. 90 amazing, full, beautiful years of life!

Now I sit at his funeral and hear, for the first time I can remember, how my grandpa’s dad abandoned his family during the Great Depression. This surprises me because my grandpa was the exact opposite of that type of man – he was one of the most affectionate family men you could possibly imagine. I’m struck by how God changed my grandpa’s life; how God’s faithfulness put my grandpa on a very different course than his own father had been on. God provided strength for my grandpa, from the Great Depression of his childhood to health decline in his 90s, and every day in between. And now that grandpa is gone, God gives me bright hope for when I will see grandpa again, receive one of his warm hugs, his bright smiles, and his tender kisses.

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Another reason I love hymns is that they put into beautiful, poetic language the deep feelings of my heart which I am less than gifted at expressing…

God’s faithfulness is woven through the fabric of my life. I see glimpses of its greatness, sometimes in small moments and sometimes in big life events. As I consider the lives and legacies of both my grandfathers, God’s great faithfulness is undeniable. My abiding hope is that my grandpas’ faith legacies will continue on to my children, who won’t know or remember their great-grandpas, but whose lives have been affected by their faith nonetheless.

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.