Leaving A Legacy

"I want to leave a legacy, how will they remember me? Did I choose to love" Nicole Nordemon's song, "Legacy" has always been a favorite of mine. How do I want to be remembered? What are my family values that I want to pass down? What is my culture that I want to create?

Hmmm. Food for thought. what is yours? Tell us about it.

I want my children to know that no matter what they have done, what they have said to me or someone else, whatever season of their life they are in, they have their mom in their corner. I may not agree with their choices, but I have raised them to love and serve the Lord first and then His people. What else is important? Everything else comes from that I think.

I want my students to know that I believe in their excellence, their dreams, their plights, and their success. I want them to know that I am fighting for things they can not see yet in themselves. I want my classroom to be a place of respect, freedom to think and make mistakes, and a shelter from the storm.

I want my life to show a pursuit of transparency, of giving everything my all and doing the best I can. I want to display an honest and humble reflection of my Lord that sustains me.

I want my husband to feel honored and truly loved. As I have said to him, wherever I am, he is always welcome.

It is important for us to consider our culture in every realm of our lives. Although we Americans are so great at compartmentalizing, we must remember that there is a common vein that should be the pathways to all of the different rooms. The love of life and God runs through my worship, my job, my relationships, and my encounters with the world around me.
I am so blessed. The legacy left for me is so rich.
The matriarch of my family, my grandmother, has given me such a rich tapestry of life, love, and talent, that I could not escape reaping some of those glorious rewards. She teaches me constantly the power of words, being a classy woman in any situation, being a straight shooter regardless of the costs, and an appreciation for sweets for breakfast. My mother leaves me a legacy of beautiful music, strong hugs, a strong shoulder to lean on no matter what, and harmony in voice and in life. Through ups and downs, she has been a constant onlooker and bystander, never giving up. My aunt leaves me a legacy of amazing color and fun. Brilliant patterns, exciting and artistic items always immediately bring her to my mind. She has reminded me that one of our family values is appreciating people that are often marginalized in our society and I think my passion for sociology may just have been born out of that. Like my grandmother, my mother, my aunt and I can all strike up a conversation with any food service worker or custodian to remind them how much we appreciate their hard work. My mother can do it even in probably 1/2 dozen different languages! To see and acknowledge people who often feel invisible changes the world one smile at a time. My sister gives me the legacy of a constant listening ear that is ever so objective. I love that! No matter what, she will tell me what she really thinks. That is a gift!!!

I am so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to have loved these amazing women and been molded into a woman with so many of these same characteristics. How grateful I am for these beautiful ladies and so many more like them that have left an incredible legacy in my life. In a world of microwaves, email, and sterility abound, what kind of fingerprints of love can we leave on one another? Find a way to touch someone around you. A legacy of love is never, ever, ever wasted.