Generational Grace - March 2024

This is a picture of me minutes before my therapy session and tears streaming down my face. Truth is I had been crying all day too.

The reason? Life. 

I have two therapists, one specializes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. And both of my therapists had recently brought up a topic that I hadn’t fully grappled with before: intergenerational trauma. The idea that the pain, struggles, and unresolved issues of previous generations can be passed down has always been interesting to me. But is also incredibly intriguing to me in this moment in particular. Intriguing because for the life of me I couldn't figure out, in its entirety, why I was responding the way that I was. Acknowledging generational trauma is painful, but maybe it can also be a first 

step towards healing? I was crying because, for the first time, I was. beginning to understand the depths of what needed to be healed.

But in that moment, I looked up and smiled. (I have a photo wall within my home dedicated to my ancestors or those that came before me. After all, I am only here because somebody prayed for me.) I was reminded that I will be okay. I am standing on the backs of my ancestors who faced over 400 years of unimaginable trauma and survived. Yes, I carry some of that trauma with me. But I am reminded that I carry their strength.

Their resolve.

Their determination.

Their fight.

Their power.

Their wisdom.

Their prayers.

Their faith.

Their resilience.

Their perseverance.

Their fortitude.

Their Grace.

And when I was reminded that the same grace that kept them is keeping me, I smiled.

I know that unraveling the threads of a legacy that had been woven into my life long before I was born starts with the one who knew us before we were born. I know when I am weak, He is strong. I know that one of the ways to overcome the challenges I’m facing in life is to become grounded in the word of the one who gives grace.

And that’s why I started Generational Grace.

I am recognizing the ways in which our lives are impacted by the experiences, wisdom, and faith of those who have come before us. Their stories of resilience and perseverance have always resonated with me. Now more than ever.

Intergenerational grace is the transmission of grace, love and blessings across generations. It is that God's blessings and grace are passed down through generations.