It's so easy to be a parent when the boys are like this: sleeping sweetly. I snapped this picture during a recent trip to see family in the Bay Area.
Lately, I have not been able to shake the idea that everyday I am leaving a legacy for these two little boys. I try not to focus on it too much, but I often wonder what my children what say about me when I'm gone. Will they praise me as a good mother who was there and took time with them, got down on their level and entered their worlds or will their memories of me be dim and distant? Will the fruit they gather that I leave behind be sweet and nourishing or rotten and stinking? Will it be fruit that they will be proud to gather and hold in their hands?
I think of my own mother who, while still here, left us a solid spiritual legacy. She didn't just tell us about church or drop us off at church. She took us to church. We watched her live for Jesus. Pray for us. Speak about the Scriptures. That's what I want. To live out what I believe for my children--in every single area of my life. To walk in a path that I want them to follow. I always think: if my children were following right behind me in every step I take throughout life, would I be proud or ashamed of the places they would find themselves in? Or would I have to turn around and say to them, "I'm sorry, please don't follow me here. I don't want you to see what I'm doing or where I'm going." I can't say I'm always successful, but I'm yet striving.
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn wrote: "....we won't be around to watch our legacy. To build that which will last beyond us is selfless, and living with that in mind breaks the power of selfishness that tries so desperately to engrain itself in our lives.
It also keeps us focused on the big picture. Legacy building is "big picture." It keeps us focused on the long-term and gives us values that we can judge our actions by. When we are acting based on selfishness, personal expediency and the like, we are "small picture"--whatever is pragmatic right now. When we are building a life that will give for many years, we are "big picture." Ask yourself: How does this action affect my overall goals? How will this affect people in the years to come? Yes, your legacy is very important."
With that, I'm going to work on leaving footsteps that I wouldn't mind my children walking in. Heavy stuff--but I think I'm up for the challenge. How about you?
