Legacy… Webster says ‘something left’.
The term came to mind as I stood at my grandmother’s grave. She lived a few days over 98 years. We were not close, and sadly, I know very little about her life, but she had to have seen a LOT of change in her lifetime. She outlived three children, one died as an infant, one as young adult, one in her 80s.
Only my father is left.
It makes me wonder just what kind of legacy I will leave. What footprint will I make? Who will wonder about the details of my life? Who will know them?
We all have our own story, our own issues, our own baggage….secrets, regrets, mistakes..
None of us live perfect lives. No one gets thru life without all that ‘ick’. “….we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us…” (Romans 3:23 The Message)
My grandmother made mistakes. Some of them I witnessed as a child and misunderstood…even judged her harshly for.
“You will be judged in the same way you judge others. You will be measured in the same way you measure others.” (Matthew 7:2) Those words are written in red. Words of my Lord Jesus.
I hear him whisper to me to be careful how I judge harshly the mistakes of others, for I too have a mountain of my own mistakes.
I want mercy. I want understanding and forgiveness.
I must extend the same to others who are no more deserving of those graces than I am.
Perhaps the things that I am so critical of are the very things that He needs to address in me.
