Leaving a Legacy. What does that even mean? You look it up and it's definition alludes to money or property. Thank goodness the Merriam-Webster dictionary expands on it.
leg·a·cy
: something (such as property or money) that is
received from someone who has died
: something that happened in the past or that comes from
someone in the past
Full Definition of LEGACY
1: a gift by will especially of money or other
personal property: bequest
2: something transmitted by or received from an
ancestor or predecessor or from the past <the legacy of the
ancient philosophers>
I never REALLY thought about leaving a legacy. I didn't have a multi-million dollar company. I didn't own any real estate, or a ginormous amount of stock. (hopefully mine will grow) I thought a legacy was only for the wealthy and famous. I first heard about it in a church study "One Month to Live" by Kerry and Christ Shook. Our Pastor talks about it in several sermons over the years. But I really didn't dive deeper and find out what that really really meant.
Tonight, as I walk into the girls room to tuck them in bed, I see that Natalia is consoling Gisele. Gisele is wiping the tears from her eyes so I asked what any mother would ask "What is the matter Gisele?"
I laid down next to her and so she begins to tell me her deepest thought. "What would life be like when her mommy and daddy have died?" Not something you encounter everyday from a 6 year old. She imagines her future, married with kids, and her mommy and daddy are old and they die. She imagines what it would be like, how would she feel and how would her kids feel. And for a moment she has a vision of the future.
It goes beyond that. This girl of mine is deep. She talks about how important it is to be happy, to love everyone and always be a family. She said, "That's why Jesus needs to be in our lives all the time. Because Jesus wants us to be happy, to love everyone and be together as family." She said, "God needs to be in our hearts so that we can see each other in heaven." Seriously!!! I know I've been trying to raise my kids to LOVE Jesus but dang, I didn't think I would be seeing the fruit just yet.
Then, it dawned on me that she had a vision of our families legacy. I love John 17. It's the perfect way of how we should leave a legacy. In John 17:4-5 "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." Not only did Jesus obey His Father, he was also focused on obedience by teaching His disciples. John 17:6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word." One of the greatest example of leaving a legacy is the one Jesus left with the disciples, by His obedience and the life He led. Can you imagine if Jesus didn't obey God the Father? That the disciples didn't continue in His teachings? In the whole passage of John 17, Jesus shows us how to have a true legacy of His glory. If you really want to know more of who Jesus is, I suggest that you read that. Humble, Focused, Faithful..... (if you have any questions on this, I would love to have a conversation with you)Richie and I are first generation Born Again Christian's within our immediate family. We have begun establishing our foundation to live a life as Jesus did. We are only 7 years old. It was really important to us that we start changing the way of life we grew up in. Start finding truth in the lies we believed. And we worked double time. Our two older children already had the taste of the worldly ways. So we pressed in like no other.
My 6 year old daughter taught and showed me what true legacy looks like.
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