Genesis 47-50: Have you received a blessing from your parents? In Old Testament days parents would give a blessing to their children and grandchildren before they died. In Genesis 48 Jacob blessed Joseph and his sons.
48:5And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Passing on a blessing can alter the course of one’s life. I remember as a child my own father holding both of my hands, looking me in my eyes and saying. “Page, I love you. I have always loved you and always will. I may not always agree with the decisions you make, but I will always always love you.”

Through the years I have seen good times and hard times, but in all that time I knew one thing for sure. My parents truly loved me. I was theirs. My mom used to tell my brother “Remember whose name you carry.” A reminder to each of us is that God loves us as well. We carry His name and our life should reflect that. The blessing of the Father is on us. He longs for us to walk daily in His presence and know His strength.

I will forever be grateful to my earthly father and my Heavenly Father for the assurance of their blessing on my life. If you haven’t blessed your children, why not pray about that today. Then when the time is right speak words of strength and encouragement to them. You never know what a difference it could make in their lives.