What kind of Legacy will you Leave?

My husband is working a night shift tonight and as I sit here in an empty living room, I think to myself, “What kind of legacy will I leave behind?”

I have experienced major losses in my life. I lost my dad when I was 21, my first baby (miscarried), and now, my grandpa at 34. Each person I lost, left behind favored fruits from each of their ‘life trees’.

So, as the rain falls behind my shoulder and the thunder orchestrates music notes of a lightening ballad, I think about legacy.

A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold. - Proverbs 22:1

I’ve heard people say, “We shouldn’t care what others think,” but is that entirely true?

King Solomon wrote otherwise. We are to walk a walk that ensembles godly characteristics. People will know us by our fruits. Are they watching a healthy and ornate orange tree blossom or a bug infested and rotting apple tree appear?

When we pass, will we pass by loved ones with a breeze of benevolence and beauty?

‘Caring and loving’ are inscribed on many tombstones. But, did those words deeply etch our lives, writing a book that will lovingly linger on bookshelves? Will that book be hidden behind other ‘life novels’ or glisten behind glass that shines your name?

Will our names be echoed with integrity and honor, traveling down hallways and stone paths, reaching others?

Most of all, will we be spoken of in a manner that glorified God? Did we bear leaves that will caress a face with grace when it has fallen? Will it kindly touch a hand with remembrance of a love for Christ?

So, yes, we are to live with the intent of branding life with a “good name”. We are to strive to sow, water, and grow ‘legacy trees’ that cover others with a cooling shade of comfort and love.

What kind of legacy will you leave?

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