Family History Failures

This past Sunday we had a wonderful discussion during my Sunday School class about family history. I had to sit on my hands to keep from commenting too much since, as many of you well know, I have caught the family history fever and can't stop talking about it. One of the questions asked was "How do you participate in Family History?"
There was a time not so long ago, ok like a month ago, that I would have hung my head in shame thinking "I just haven't had time to do family history lately" or "I have been fiddling around in my past, but I haven't found any names to add to the tree or take to the temple."
I think many of us (me included until recently) have a mental picture of a family historian. They are the wonderful Uncle Dan or Aunt Bea who spend hours in the family history library scanning film strips like a pro and cranking out 17th century ancestors like a machine. They "know what they are doing" and, together with the rest of the genealogy super heroes, have managed to populate our family trees so completely that it seems to many of us that there is nothing left to do.
So since we don't have the time or the skills to comb the ancient archives in search of our ancestors are we family history failures? No! No! No!
I don't know who is reading this blog exactly, but I can guarantee you are in fact already quite a family historian. I would like to submit one qualifying characteristic for the lofty title of family historian; DESIRE. If you want to learn about who you are and where your family came from then you already are a family historian.
Perhaps to this point you have only been able to learn a few of the stories of your ancestors, but these stories have impacted you and helped you to better understand who you are and where you came from. As opportunity presents itself and as you keep an open mind, you will collect other stories and information and learn the best ways to share that information with others. We will all contribute to our collective record of family history in different roles at different times, but we are all united by our desire to LEARN and SHARE. Do not be discouraged that you do not know your whole family tree now. It is a huge tree and will take a life time and a lot of family teamwork to piece together. Do not be discourage by the technology and research skills needed to learn and share your family history. You will pick it up in time as you slowly start to scale your tree.
Most importantly, the work of learning about and finding our ancestors is important to God; therefore, He will direct us in our efforts. Ask Him what your role is in regards to family history and then seek to do it wholeheartedly. Then it doesn't matter if it involves keep a file of your children's pictures and art projects or traveling to Scotland to do tombstone rubbings. We will never be failures when we do His will.
I am a total beginner at family history, but if I can manage to focus on just one babystep at a time, I know that one day I will have contributed something to my family tree and most importantly I will be changed by the journey.