INVITATIONS

 When was the last time you received an invitation? 

Was it to a wedding or a funeral? A church service or a birthday party? Invitations vary a lot! So do expectations. 

I suppose that is the thing I wrestle with most. 

What does "invitation" even mean? I mean - no pressure, right? You are not required to do whatever is being asked BUT you have been asked to do something - a request has been made. 

At times do you struggle with requests? Or make excuses, perfectly valid of course, but nevertheless ways to avoid or minimize a request? 

When I truly want to accept invitations I seemingly can manage to arrange - or even rearrange - my schedule so that my time, energy, emotion, and money are able to be directed toward what I want. 

Can I do the same for the things others may want or need? 

Is it a sacrifice? Sometimes! Yes, sometimes such changes may involve significant sacrifice. 

Remember our opportunity that arrived a month ago? Well, we received an e-mailed invitation for us to each submit 3-4 photos of ancestors. That was the extent of the request!

What? Why?? Purpose? I mean I have 100s - perhaps even 1000s ...

This?

Abraham Day Family Reunion 1877

Or this? 

Lorenzo Hill Hatch

Or randomly either? Or both? 

More information please ... 

Thankfully a link was provided to facilitate my invitation for answers to such questions, and after informing us the photos are "for a presentation we do at the end of orientatation week" we were instructed that "portraits or small family works best. Send people who you know about or mean a lot to you."

clockwise: Forsyth Hatch Campbell Bohne

OK! I can do that! I clicked through photos representing each of my 4 ancestral lines, selected some, and emailed them. BUT funny thing, although these days I find myself too busy to do many things I want desperately to accomplish, I spent hours scrolling through photos of people that "mean a lot to me."

That is what invitations usually are - to accept or do things that are meaningful, or will be to myself or someone else. 

Good invitations effect good things - things I don't even realize possible until after they have happened. 

Invitations often involve efforts. And outcomes generally exceed invested energy, emotion, or even expense expectations - for myself and others. 

Such outcomes may even be unknown. Sometimes we learn later.  

I may be able to provide an update about how and why these photos were meaningful AFTER 'orientation week' is completed near the end of next month.