My hope is that these are the words my children will one day use to describe me…
“My mother loved God, her husband, and her children. She worked hard to make a warm, inviting, and hospitable home. She was kind and patient. She loved others and taught us to serve the body of Christ, help those in need, and love one another well. She loved truth and she devoured grace. She never gave up.”
The truth is, my children will not say those things unless I give them a reason to say them.
They will not rise up and call me blessed if I do not, by the grace of God, work hard at being the woman God has shown me to be.
The thought of my legacy sobers me up real quick.
I don’t want the legacy for my own pride, I want it because as a first generation Christian, I want to leave a noble imprint on our family history so that the generations of daughters who come after me can look back with resolve and say, “our great grandmother persevered in godliness, and so will we.”
And through the generations we will show our love for Jesus Christ and let our lives be a fragrant offering to our God and pleasant aroma to those who do not know Him…in the hopes that they will.
Have you thought about your legacy?
If you haven’t, start…and then commit, with His grace, to live it out.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
This is really beautiful, Sarah Mae, and so true that it doesn’t just happen. We have to have the commitment to live it every single day.
I’m doing a series on legacy on my own blog, http://www.firefliesandhummingbirds.net/search/label/legacy. It’s something I think about a lot.
Absolutely beautiful! You said it perfectly.
That is lovely indeed, and speaks to the deep recesses of my motherly soul. The one hidden under smears of peanut butter and permanent marker, the one buried under exhaustion and frustration with everyday events, the one that wants to LIVE OUT LOUD for my family (and not just cuz I’m yelling). Thanks for writing it so beautifully!
Thank you for reminding us the time that comes so quickly after the midnight shifts, diapers, bickering, and driving to swimming, piano, etc. We get such a short time to impress on their hearts what is really important.
Thank you for this convicting message.
That was a real wake-up call. I will be thinking about that all day. Thanks for sharing!
Blessings–
Hi –
What a wonderful way to begin each day, to begin with the end in mind. I too, have a rich legacy that I desire to leave my children and a passion to work toward hearing, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” It’s great that we can encourage one another along the way.
PS- I gave you an award today on my Living in Love with Jesus Blog
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This reminds me of Nicole Nordeman’s song “I Wanna Leave a Legacy”. This is my “cool down” song on my ipod after a good run! I posted the youtube to this song back in October along with a devotional from Ecclesiastes : http://womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/2009/10/good-reputation-ecclesiastes-7.html
Your children are so blessed to have a mommy determined to plow a new way! You GO girl!
Much Love,
Courtney
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. It really does sober one up! Every “spare” moment becomes an opportunity to power up and plunge back to work with double the effort.
-Breezy
such a timely reminder to all of us!
Thanks for this beautiful, and sobering, post. My heart stretches beyond capacity when I consider the weighty importance of leaving a legacy to my sons. Having all boys, I feel the urgency of raising them to be good husbands and fathers, too. Thanks for the encouragement to live well and right before their sweet eyes.
I want my children to rise up and call me blessed. I would love any portion of Proverbs 31 as my epitaph. If I am honored as such, then I have succeeded.
If not, I have failed.
This post brought tears to my eyes because that’s the sort of thing that I’ve said so many times about my mother in the past year and a half since her death. She left such a legacy of faith and of love. It’s my heart’s desire to do the same for my children.
This is a beautiful post and so very true. The legacy of faith we leave behind for our children is priceless.
Beautiful put.
I think about this everyday! While doing what seams like endless chores, but knowing that if I do them with a smile and a cheerful attitude our 3 little girls will learn from it!
thanks for the reminder!
I feel the same way, being a first generation Christian.
Love this post! You summed it up so perfectly. Thank you for the reminder of what to strive for daily!
That is sobering thought. It makes me want to run to Jesus and fall on His grace ad mercy to accomplish. It also makes me think of my own legacy for I’m a fourth generation Christian woman. Praise the Lord for my Great-Grandmother. Sacrifices in the past have paid of GREAT dividends in the future. Although it seems like such a hard task and it’s so easy to give up, we need to be future focused and stay the course with joyfulness in our hearts for all Jesus is storing up for the next generations.
Any advice? I was wondering when you feel like you need to start from scratch and start making our children feel everything that was described. When I have four children and I have to admit if someone asked them that that is not what they would feel how could I change this around. They are not babies anymore 4.6.7.and 15 yrs. There have been many struggles at home and I have been following this blog to better myself and family. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Renee
reneechiolanbrown79@yahoo.com
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