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More people have begun researching their family history during the pandemic–and family research was already the second-most popular hobby in the US.  

“I think the people who are starting to search, who are doing Ancestry DNA tests, are looking for connection,” says speaker and author Michelle Van Loon, whose newest book is Translating Your Past: Finding Meaning in Family Ancestry, Genetic Clues, and Generational Trauma. She believes we will get more out of family research if we focus on the stories and relationships.  

“We know that who we are is created from the stories of all of those who’ve come before,” she says. 

If we can learn to interpret those family stories, we might understand ourselves better and find a deeper connection to God. 

“The more that you understand yourself, and who you are–what makes you, you–you’re in a position to give God glory with your life.” 

Family stories won’t always be comfortable ones. But Van Loon points out that when God created each of us, He used all of our past as raw material. 

“We’re fearfully and wonderfully made out of those ingredients. This is what we bring into our churches, into our communities, and certainly into our families.”  

Van Loon points out that a family’s history doesn’t have to be its destiny. 

“The patterns of the past are there,” she says. “But so is the power of Christ to create and form a new identity. But part of it is understanding exactly what it is that we are carrying with us and into this world and into this life.” 

Learn more about Michelle Van Loon here. 

Learn about Michelle Van Loon’s books here.