An Ancestral Thanksgiving Gallery 🧬❤️

An Ancestral Gallery of Thanks!
I am thankful for:
Generations of my ancestors who had the vision to traverse continents to discover uncharted lands to inhabit,
those who met severe hardships while crossing oceans, seas, rivers, mountains, & valleys in search of sustenance so they could survive.
Forbearers, who met resistance, yet had the will & courage to persevere,
adventurers who developed trade routes to foster commerce necessary for their well-being.
Those who were fearless & filled with courage & fortitude to defeat those who opposed them,
adventurous spirits that summoned them to discover new lands, peoples, tools, weapons, inventions, cultures, ways of agriculture, hunting & gathering to enhance their new way of life--
--taking time to thank the Gods they chose to worship in the way that was known to them; some were Pagan, some were Christian, some worshipped Gods unknown to me but they had rituals to follow with faith to allow them to believe in that which was part of their culture & heritage.
Their willingness to fight the good fight though sickness, starvation, war, & depravity of spirit, unthwarted,
creative minds that provided innovative inventions & works of art to advance their culture.
I am thankful for each one of them for I am who I am because of who they were!

Sheila Bowyer Kline
"A people's relationship to their heritage is the same as the relationship of a child to its mother."
John Henrik Clarke