A voice from the past

A while back, when I visited with Grandad and got a crash course in Johnston family history, he gave me a couple of things. One was our book of family history, "A Cloud of Witnesses". Grandad's daddy (PawPaw) spent much of his adult life researching and writing that book. It's fabulously well-done and a treasure to have. However, I can't look at it long before I start to go cross-eyed: lots and lots of people, places, and dates to pore over.

Grandad gave me this, too, also written by PawPaw.

Just a simple blue folder. "I Remember".

Look past the humble exterior, though, and you'll find something truly special.

I love that line about preserving family history for future generations: "And if they lose, discard, or even destroy the record, the error will be theirs, for we will have done our duty toward them."

PawPaw wrote down the story of his grandparents and parents (as well as his own childhood) as he remembered it. It's a story full of hardship, perseverance, family, love, and faith in the Lord. Although I never got to meet him, I feel like I'm getting to know him now. What a wonderful gift he left to us.

I found these at the back: poems he wrote as a tribute to his mother and father. For a man who was never able to go to college, he has quite a talent for writing.

Grandad said PawPaw never got to see this printed up; this was done after he had passed on. Such a thoughtful gift to leave behind for your family. I feel so blessed to have this. I'm excited to sit down and read it all the way through!