Heritage is Part of You

I was recently talking to my sister who lives in Germany. They had just returned from a visit to Israel. She was telling me about the places and landmarks that had made the biggest impression on her. She described to me the The Church of the Pater Noster – (translated from Latin it means “Our Father”)It stands on the traditional site in Jerusalem where Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. Constantine built a church over a cave here in 4th century, and this has been partially reconstructed. Plaques in the cloister bear the Lord’s Prayer in 62 different languages (the history behind it may be questionable)
My sister told me, as she was walking through this church the came upon The lord’s Prayer in English, German and Dutch. But what made the greatest impact on her, was when she found the Lord’s Prayer in Friesian (Frisian, Frison), our mother tongue. She said: “As I stood there, reading these precious words in the language I grew up with, I was overcome with the feeling of a deep homesickness, a nostalgic feeling and I started to cry right there”. Even though we always spoke Frisian when we grew up, my father always said the Lord’s prayer in Dutch.
I guess our roots run deeper than we think, our heritage is part of us and defines who we are.

Jesus taught us all how to pray, and what a great comfort it is, to know that He understands every language.
Click HERE to hear some the Frisian language, as well as the Lord’s prayer spoken in the Frisian and the Dutch language.

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