Snow Fields & Legacies

I went on a drive this morning all by myself in our very noisy pick up truck, sporting my new favorite baseball cap (that I stole from my son because it matched the sweatshirt I also “borrowed” from his closet).
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My drive took me along back-country, familiar roads, reminding me of many Sunday drives from my childhood—church to Grandma D & Grandpa Teddy’s house (or some other similar location for a Denny family gathering).
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I needed this solitary drive.

​​I needed no talking.
No radio.
No phone.

​Just countryside. Road. Thoughts. Memories. Feelings. Deep, deep feelings. Ones so deep there are no words. Just a sense of this and a sense of that. Nothing concrete. Just thoughts that are like dreams—you try to grab words to explain or describe them but none fit.

And these wide open fields just kept pulling me in, pulling my mind to try to see what God was trying to reveal to my heart by bringing my wonder again and again to the beauty of an empty, snow covered field on a sunny morning.

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My mom’s mom went to be with Jesus recently. My drive this morning was to pick up a few things that will now be in our home, reminding me of her daily. And in this season I find myself in, I think I will need reminders of her more than any other season of my life. She was strong and persistent. She was honest and no-non-sense. She wasn’t easily swayed by opinions of others. And she was disciplined and servant-hearted. And she read a lot.

​My life would look posh next to her upbringing and years of farm-wife life. But I have zero memories of her ever complaining about her life or circumstances. Things were what they were. So buckle up buttercup and do what needs to get done. 

In reflecting on my Grandma & my Grandpa too, I think these wide open fields are a bit like their legacy. To get a field to be just that, a farmer has to clear the ground. It is hard work and the benefit of it comes at least 2 seasons later.
I am that 2 seasons later. I am the granddaughter of farmers who lived lives that plowed ground to make for open fields. My life is lived in the wide-open fields because of both my grandparents & parents making the choices they made, based on the values they set.

It is hard to believe my Grandma DeAnna isn’t on this earth anymore. We didn’t get to see her much this year. But I know with all my heart her imprints on my life will never go away. And I will try my best to pass the Denny legacy on to my children so that they too can see themselves in the beauty of an open field, covered in snow on a sunny winter morning.

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Jaclyn is a wife, mom, educator, visionary, and avid runner who uses her writing to pick up and examine life, culture, faith and running, probing to discover the awe of God who is sovereign over it all. She is a firm believer in the powerful, effectiveness of the body of Christ united together to live out the Great Commission. Because we are stronger, healthier and lovelier when living on mission together, she desires to help others know their unique design and purpose for such a time as this. Invite her to come teach at your event or retreat by heading to her Go & See. page. ​