Leave a Legacy

I feel an urgency to get this out. Because you see, I am realizing more and more how fragile this life is. It can be here one moment and gone the next. In the last nine months, two people I went to school with and a distant cousin have all died suddenly and unexpectedly in tragic car accidents. And of course, losing my daughter has opened my eyes to what a blessing it is to be alive. This life is but a brief breath and then we have all eternity. All these things have stirred something in me. So, here I am, writing this post, attempting to convey the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head.

None of us know when our last few hours and moments will be and there is so much uncertainty in life. We don't know if we're going to be one of those who die young or live to 100. Tomorrow is never a given. The rest of today isn't either. Do we live like that? Do we live with passion and love, like it were possibly the last day we could make an impact? Or do we think death or tragedy will never happen to us or our family? Do we think we are invincible and will live until we're old, so we put off getting our lives together? "Tomorrow I'll do this." "Tomorrow I'll do that." This moment is all we have. 

Jesus is the only constancy, the only certainty.

Have I wasted my life? Have you wasted yours? I know I have wasted time...days, weeks, months, even years. Because you see, I haven't always lived fully abandoned to the cause of Christ and His will in my life. And, oh, how it grieves my heart to think of how much more I could have served and loved my Jesus all these years. How much more might He have been able to use my yielded life for His glory?

But, my friends, we must not look behind, but ahead. Oh Lord, keep our eyes fixed on what You want to do with the rest of our lives! May we not be so discouraged, focusing on the past, that we forget where You want to take us now. We cannot change the past. But, my hope is in Christ and He is a God who restores and makes all things new. I know, trust, believe that He can use my past failings and regrets for His glory and my good. I don't know how He does it, but He does. And it's breathtakingly beautiful to behold. So, don't get so down, feeling guilty and so full of regret that You miss what He's trying to do now and how He desires to use these things for good. He can bring beauty out of those wasted years...in my life and in yours. Look how He redeemed Paul in Scripture.

"...One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." ~Philippians 3:13

May we feel the weight of it all, the weight of eternity. Don't grow cold to what God is trying to do in your life. Don't put things off! May we fight for the souls that our Jesus wants to rescue. Raise your sword in battle!

So, I ask you, what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? Because we will all be leaving a legacy, it's only a matter of what it will be. There is no guarantee we will live until we're old. Do we want to be remembered as one who was selfish, materialistic, lazy, etc? Do we want to be remembered as a mediocre, lukewarm, half-hearted Christian, or someone sold-out for God? Do we want to live this life with one foot in the world and one foot in the murky waters of Christianity, or with both our feet firmly planted on the Rock?

As for me...I want to be remembered first and foremost as someone who was completely in love with and devoted to Jesus Christ. I want to be His servant and yielded vessel. I want to be known as Luke Shiloh and Lily Katherine's mother. For the story of LIFE and redemption that my Lord has chosen to write for me. I pray others remember what He did in my life and story, even if they don't remember my name or even the names of my children. I hope and pray that Lily lives through me. I hope Lily's legacy is honored and remembered long after I'm gone, even if I'm not. I want to be remembered as a servant. Someone who loved her family and friends and put them above herself.

What about you? What do you want to be remembered for? I am seriously praying about what God's will and purpose for my life is. And I want to fulfill everything He sent me here for, like Lily did. Without ever taking a breath or speaking a word, my girl has accomplished so much in this world. And I can only hope to be used by God like that. Lily Katherine is speaking from Heaven. She is speaking through this story. He is speaking through her story, this story, our story. Her life has such volume and speaks so much more than if she were here. What a precious gift. I am to be her voice on this earth. May that never be taken lightly.

I am going to write out everything I want to be remembered for. I want someone to read my words at my funeral, whether that's in 1 year or 70 years. And I pray that God will make me that person. That He will mold me into everything He intended me to be when He created me. And that when people hear the words I wrote, they will nod along and say, yes....that's exactly who she was and that's exactly who she'll be remembered as...

May we live today the legacy we want to leave.

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." ~James 4:14

Keep your eyes fixed on Calvary and live in light of the glorious Cross!