The New Pioneer
The past few weeks six of us have spent time at our family cabin, a haven nestled into a narrow valley of surrounding peaks. It is a refuge for our extended family to enjoy each summer to recharge, reconnect, and renew.
The cabin for our family is not only special because of what it provides, but also because of what it stands for. It is a legacy of family and faith. My grandparents built this small shepherds cabin in 1950. Expanded, updated and cared for by many family members over the years to preserve and strengthen the original design, it has become a museum of sorts as certain artifacts decorate each room, pointing back to a different time period. An oil lamp, a model of an outhouse, a cast iron, a washboard, a coffee grinder among other things surround the living quarters set as a reminder to a bygone era.
My children observe and inquire as to the what and why’s behind each item. Their amazement grows as I explain the purpose behind each item and their responses reflect an understanding at how far we have come. Today a decoration, they are introduced to a time when technology, running water, and dishwashers did not exist. A time when common inventions were yet to be created, and when hard work was necessary for the most menial of tasks.
I cannot help but wonder how my Grandmother, with six children, pioneered through forest living, economic downturns, cars without seat belts and wood burning stoves. Then my eye drifts to a collage of portraits next to the fireplace; each child including my mother, documented in a family tree of sorts on the wall. Yet, one stands out.
Cast forever in my memory, this tenderhearted woman, the matriarch of our family, sits with fragile hands holding her Bible. Grinning in her favorite place, she is reading and meditating on the very source that strengthened her weary mother’s heart daily. While we dialogue about the picture, I am struck by several facts that are not as obvious to my children. She had buried several children by this point, one to suicide. She had been widowed for decades and chose not to remarry. She had children who continued to possess of a love for the God she loved and some who chose not to, yet her eyes are fixed on Truth. Her comforting smile a testament of His all-sustaining power in her life; a God who continued to give her joy even through the pain.
As we prepare to say goodbye to the cabin and enter back into life in Texas, I am struck by the sense that we too are pioneers in our day. We can all be thankful for the gift of running water and dishwashers, laundry machines and flushing toilets, but we are pioneers who are navigating our way through an increasingly difficult and unknown decade of parenting.
A pioneer is someone who is first to settle into a new region or area, opening it up for those who will follow. Without a doubt, each of us is forging life amidst a foreign and tumultuous terrain. Racial divides, political extremes, technology temptations, educational challenges are staring us in the face as we enter this decade; a list of which our ancestors never faced. How we equip ourselves for this journey matters. It matters not only for how we will navigate the path ahead, but it deeply matters for the generations to come.
When researching the term, I came across this complementing definition on the Smithsonian website, that a pioneer is also “someone who sees potential, an innovator who is willing to try new things”. It is someone who “pushes boundaries to advance a cause”.
Do you feel your boundaries being stretched to uncomfortable dimensions?
Do you feel alone in your efforts to forge through the days to come?
Do you see an opportunity to try new things, things that you never expected in the upcoming season?
You are a pioneer. I am a pioneer.
Like those who have resiliently gone before us to pave the way, through hardship, suffering and pain, let’s accept the baton and carry it into the next decade with grace and determination. As we do, let us also draw from a source of strength, the deep well of faith and fortitude that enveloped their every step.
" Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
Where we fix our eyes will determine the path we follow. We can meditate on the news and on the opinions of others, our past and our failings, or we can put on the full armor of God, fastening the belt of Truth around us and press on.
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Psalm 119:15 ESV
You will equip yourself with something or look to someone to lead you through what lies ahead. We all will. Know that there is a faithful God who has already given you everything you need to continue through life and parenting, suffering and celebration alike.
Just as my cabin is a reminder of those who have paved the way before me, may our lives and our faith in a loving God form a path for our children to follow.
This season is not unknown to him.
Let that good news wash over you today and carry you one step further as we pioneer the days ahead together.