FAMILIES AND BELONGING

Do you sometimes feel a bit out of date and ill-fitting?   I do, and I think those are the times that I most love to see my family.    I like the fact that they still care about me, even when I’m being a bit weird, but more than that, when I spend time with them I can usually be pretty sure that at least someone, maybe everyone will somehow understand why it is that I am weird.   Chances are that they will be a bit weird in the very same ways; at least my favourite ones will be.

Its just about a year now since I first had the prompting to investigate serving a mission.   I suppose I had in my mind that I could somehow help other people to a better life.   I imagined my assignment might be to people who were physically poor, or poor in spirit.   What I didn’t foresee was that I might come to a place that was really the centre of my religious ‘family’, and be serving people who felt the need to be connected with their ancestors, and the family that had shaped them over time. 












I well understand this desire, and have myself compiled some family group sheets and pedigrees for many of our family lines, using information largely handed to me by various relatives.   A few times I’ve even been to a cemetery or the Archives and among the many names there, felt the thrill of finding somebody connected to me personally.   Like the time I discovered the Larcombe family boarded a ship in England with one little girl and a babe in arms, and came to Australia to work at the lovely Clarendon House near Evandale, where their next 14 children were born!

And now I’m here, I’m having such an interesting time at the Family History Centre, because before I came I didn’t really know more than an odd place-name in connection with my pre-Australia ancestors.   But now I have learnt about many different types of British records, and the families just seem to keep tumbling out!

Its so interesting learning about people’s lives in earlier time periods, and how that might have influenced their choices about all sorts of daily activities, as well as the bigger decisions, like emigration.   Finding old photos shows me how some ancestors even looked like today’s family members, and I can see how their behaviour and even habits might be similar to some of my own.



Having lost dear ones of my own, I can also begin to appreciate the wonderful mercy in the Lord’s plan that allows families to continue on together and be sealed beyond this mortal life, into the eternities. 







Now that my opinions have been broadened in this way, I’m very grateful to have been assigned to the Family History Library, where my service can be offering understanding and help to other patrons wanting a connection with their own families, just as I do.