Legacy
What does that mean to you? What does it mean to me?
When you google the definition of legacy, there are three different ways the word is used. First in the court of Law a legacy is a property or a monetary gift left behind to someone by say a family member. A student who attends the same school as their parents, is called a legacy. However the kind of legacy I would like to talk about is the the passing down from the past.
The beginning of this year has not been a very cheerful one in our church. In the matter of 4 weeks we had, I believe, 6 funerals. When you attend funerals and listen to the eulogies of these people who have lived such incredible lives, have done so much good in their life, have left an amazing legacy themselves, you can’t help but start thinking “What kind of a legacy am I leaving behind myself?”
I guess most 27 year olds don’t necessarily think about these kinds of things, but when you are in the position that I am in, death and what you leave behind, become something you think about more often.
Honestly, this topic has been on my heart for a while now but I have struggled to put into words what exactly it is that I want to say here.
Whenever I think about what I want my own legacy to look like, I come back to Titus 2:1-5
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
These are the guiding verses of this years Ladies Bible Study in my church.I couldn’t even tell you how many times I have heard, read or recited these verses since September. I don’t even know if I had ever heard them before, but let me tell you, they have had a tremendous impact on my life in the last 6 months.
One of the authors of the book we are following, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, often says “from the time [she] was a little girl it was always [her] goal to be a godly, old lady”. I have come to love that sentiment! To become a godly, old lady.
THAT is the kind of legacy I want to leave behind. The legacy of being a, in my case hopefully, old lady. One who has immersed herself in God so much that she can’t be called anything else but a GODLY, old lady.
I have some amazing godly, older women in my life to show me the way to reaching my goal (And when I say older, I mean older than me, not old as in old granny 😉). Godly women who through their lives are examples to me.
I think of the woman who makes a point to check in with me both on my physical and spiritual well-being.
I think of that woman who sets aside a day of the week to serve others by cooking for them or running errands for them.
I think of the woman who is always willing to pitch in and lend a helping hand at any church function.
I think of the woman who shares her heart by admitting to struggles she has faced and overcome, or struggles she is currently overcoming,
I think of the many, many women who spend so much of their time on their knees, storming the flood gates of heaven for us younger women and men.
I think of the woman ministering to me from her hospital bed, taking hours and hours of answering my questions and encouraging me. Praying with and for me and blessing me with her spirit on fire for the Lord.
For me, teaching by example is so much more powerful than giving a lecture but not living that lecture out in your own life. These women live it out!
Its easy to dismiss the older generation and expect that they won’t understand where I am coming from anyways. But oh how much we miss out on by doing so.
By not spending more time with these women and learning out of their lives, I am setting myself up for heart ache. Heart ache that could maybe have been avoided by getting counsel from one of these godly, older ladies. By learning from some of the mistakes they have made, lessons they have learned, maybe even the hard way.
Each and every one of these women reflects Jesus back to me. They’re lives show me what it means to be totally surrendered to Him and seeking to become more like Jesus every single day.
THAT is the ultimate goal, to become more and more like Jesus and leaving that kind of a legacy behind.
If you are an ‘older’ woman, and we all are an older woman to someone, let me encourage you. We need to learn from you. We need to hear the wisdom God has taught you through your struggles. You do not have to be perfect! You do not have to be a great teacher! Just teach out of your life. God has given you a treasure trove of lessons, waiting to be taught.
The last funeral I went to was of an amazing godly man who set a pretty great example and partially inspired this blog post. This man lived into his 80s, is now leaving behind some of the best families I know, build up his own company and did beyond astounding things to further the kingdom of God. His funeral, as sad as is was to loose him, was a true celebration of his life and what he had led God do in his life.
Legacy to me means something final. It means to me it is what is left of my life when I am not here on this earth anymore.
So really, what do I want people to say at my funeral? I pray to live a life, which shows exactly as I mentioned, that I let God lead me in my life. That I was striving to be more like Jesus every day. I pray to life a life that can only be described by the welcome I hope to hear when I get to heaven:
‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Matthew 25:21
