A couple years ago, because of Well-Educated Heart, I started learning about Susanna Wesley.
“Through all the struggles and disruptions of life, there was one constant in her life—she never failed to keep her daily appointment with God. When the house was busy and crowded—as it always was—when the children saw their mother pull her apron over her head, they knew to quiet down and not interrupt her—this was her place to pray in peace.” (Catch the Vision of the Well-Educated Heart, Volume One, pg. 39)
As I was telling my husband about this that night and how inspired I was by Susanna Wesley… it dawned on me that of her 2 sons that became very influential in the world… one was named Charles Wesley. I remembered that my great great great grandfather’s name was Charles Wesley Hubbard. I began to wonder if maybe he was Methodist before joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and perhaps his parents named him after Charles Wesley since he and his brother John started the Methodist movement.
My husband suggested that maybe Charles Wesley Hubbard was related to Charles Wesley. … So the next day I looked it up on familysearch.org to see if I am related to Susanna Wesley. I was expecting to maybe be like 10th cousins or something if we even were related, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Susanna and I are 2nd cousins, 10 times removed! That’s pretty close! My kids are 2nd cousins with my cousin’s kids… so that really isn’t that far of a relation… the biggest part is the 10 generation gap because she was born in 1669.
That also makes her kids (including John and Charles) my 3rd cousins, 9 times removed… that’s really cool as well.
Here is a little excerpt from my journal that I wrote after that experience a couple years ago… “After finding out that Susanna and I are fairly closely related, that made me love her even more. I have spent a lot of time reading about her over the past few days and I have been so inspired by her. I have felt so connected to her, not only because we are related but also because I feel like we are kindred spirits. I feel like we have similar personalities and similar views of life and motherhood, and similar styles/methods of raising children. … a lot of these things are things that usually make me feel kind of alone because I don’t have many people in my everyday life that share these same thoughts/feelings about motherhood.”
Learning about Susanna gave me both a cousin and a friend. So a couple years ago I decided to add some aprons to my wardrobe and every time I wear them I think of her.
Another story that really inspired me around that same time was When Queens Ride By. I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard that story on one of Marlene’s podcasts because it touched my heart so deeply. A few days later I was serendipitously able to find an inexpensive vintage white handkerchief with a blue butterfly in the corner and I felt like it was the perfect little physical reminder to help me to remember that I am the queen of my home and I can be intentional about using that power wisely to create a beautiful marriage, family, and home.
As I was wearing one of my aprons today and kept noticing the handkerchief in my pocket I decided that I would share this story with you. I love the buffet resources that Marlene has provided for us and how they enrich my life.
