Finding out something unexpected (as long as it’s a good thing) is a lot of fun, and this spring, my husband Dan and I traveled to Wisconsin to visit my family roots. Plans were to visit the areas where both sets of my grandparents and also my mom and dad had lived.
The first part of our trip was to reconnect with a first cousin whom I had not seen in person since we gathered for the funeral of our grandmother in 1968. As we relived memories, laughed, talked non-stop, and shed some tears, our time together flew by way too quickly. Then we had to say our good-byes as my cousin traveled back to Minnesota and Dan and I drove toward eastern Wisconsin as we continued our trip.
But let me backtrack for a moment. In preparation for this five-day rendezvous in our motorhome, I began putting together an itinerary and doing some research in hopes of locating some relatives’ gravesites and the house where my great-aunt Ruth lived. But there was a surprise out there waiting for me. One that I had no clue even existed.
In trying to find my Aunt Ruth’s house and the gravesites of some of my mother’s family in the town of Pound, Wisconsin, I reached out to several organizations in that very small town to see if they could be of help. And in the process, I discovered a third cousin living near there by the name of Edward Heisel. I was certainly surprised, never expecting this happy news, and it wasn’t long before we were calling and texting each other. Edward also shared more family genealogy with me, and was such a help as we walked the small-town cemetery looking for my family’s gravesites.
He was full of stories about his side of the Heisel family, and we spent several delightful hours together walking, locating gravestones, and clearing the dirt off some of the nameplates. At one point, Edward—who lives alone—smiled and said, “I feel like we’ve known each other all of our lives!” That must be a family thing!
I had also discovered a second cousin named Audra in the same town, and gave her a quilt her grandmother had made. Many years ago, my mother had given me the quilt cover, which included embroidered butterflies set on white squares surrounded with golden fabric. It was beautiful as it was, but I had the privilege of completing it by hand-quilting her work of art. Audra was so grateful to have this quilt made by her grandmother.
Though the rest of our trip included visits to other meaningful places tied to my family heritage, the greatest joy came from connecting with flesh-and-blood relatives—people I truly belonged to but had no idea even existed. What a memory-making trip!
What happiness awaits us in Heaven as we get to enjoy not only our own “flesh and blood” relatives, but realize that our family is even bigger than we know when we discover that we’re all one in the Family of God. No one will be left out or feel unconnected. In Christ, we are all brothers and sisters—truly one big family that will spend eternity together. Praise the Lord! Be sure to be there for the best family gathering ever!
