Of investments and Legacy…

I recently sat with a friend talking about those special teachers, the ones whose deposit into our developing selves became an enduring, life-shaping lesson, and we wished that somehow, we could thank them at this stage of life for speaking encouragement rather than reprimand, for building up rather than taking down, for speaking life where some saw only death. I was blessed with a few teachers like these not only in school, but also later in the ministry and I regret not always recognizing the gift in the moment.  Retrospect is a great opener of the understanding, and I am truly grateful.

Having reached a certain age, I am now bombarded with advertising campaigns online promoting products that will enhance my ‘legacy’, everything from funeral planning (please save your children the pain, they say!) to ready-made scrapbooks that will document my life for my children and grandchildren – I make great use of the junk mail folder! But it has made me reflect on what legacy means, at least to me. Both BestBeloved and I inherited next to nothing in goods or wealth from our parents, but their legacy grows with each passing year, an investment producing 100-fold, no, 1000-fold more than they could ever have hoped for! In fact, if I had to list our soul-assets from them, this column would be far too long for posting here!

The poet John Donne wrote: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...” If only we could see what is ldeposited in the lives we interact with daily; we would live more thoughtfully, be kinder and walk gently in the experience of others. We would ‘bite our tongues’, ‘hold our peace’ and our words would be the currency of love, not condemnation, even when needed for correction. Of course, these thoughts are not original to me and someone wiser than I still is our great teacher and perfect example.

The longer I live, the more I admire the way our Lord Jesus interacted with the people that thronged him every day. He exuded such love for the ones he came to save that even when they grieved or irritated him, his hand was there to lift them. He opposed the proud, but those who humbled themselves found grace in abundance. I know this to be true because this has been my experience for almost 72 years.

Have I failed him? Sadly, too often… yet time and again I have known his lifting power, and when my tears would not cease because I had difficulty forgiving myself, he poured the oil of his forgiveness onto my heated thoughts, and, as King David discovered so long ago, he ‘renewed a right spirit within me.’

My life in him is my children’s true inheritance, and the only enduring legacy….

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