Legacy

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit my great aunt Linda in Mississippi. For several years now my aunt Nancy and I have tried to make a point of going over yearly and visiting her, and however many of her children and grandchildren are around at the time. I absolutely love going over there and spending time with them.

You see, Linda was my grandma's only sister. All my life, I grew up listening to stories of their early years with their parents. Then the stories would turn to the times they and their kids spent time together each summer as they were growing up. Some stories are rehashed each and every time we all get together. My grandma and Linda would always talk about how much their mother loved fires. How she would go around chasing the fire trucks to watch the fire. Or the time they drove through the fire tunnel when the mountain was on fire. (It really is a miracle they all lived with as much as they say they were around fires).

Inevitably, something would be mentioned about how my uncle Gary and Linda's daughter Brenda would always get in trouble together when they were young. Someone always mentions my grandma cooking when they all stayed at the parsonage together for a few weeks every summer they could. And how Linda and Grandma would help with Vacation Bible School every year, wherever they were, whether they were together or not.

But one of the things that always warms my heart the most is to think about how these two sisters love/loved the Lord. To listen to the stories, they always served in any way they could. I have also seen this myself. I know they both gave so much of their time serving others. And Aunt Linda still does! I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to take her to Sunday school this past Sunday morning to 'her' class. She may be 87, but she is still teaching God's Word every week that she can.

You see, these two sisters made a decision to serve God and the people around them in any and every way they could. I think one of the greatest testaments to this is the fact that all of their children serve/served people in one way or another. Not all of them went into ministry, but every single one helps others. Their combined legacy is one of service that will reach way beyond their years on this earth. I know that I am a missionary because of their legacy. I am proud to be able to carry on that legacy of service to God in the way that I have been called to.

What is your legacy?