Week One       There is a Season

Day Five         Legacy

     Each season of life can be rich with lessons and alive with love, as we learn what to keep, what and how to let go and how to lean into the future plan of God. The Bible reminds us that our lives are like a wisp, a vapor, a breath. The number of our days is in the hands of our God. What legacy can we leave behind?

    One of my best friends died of cancer last fall and I miss her terribly each and every day. She left us with memories, stories, laughter, and so much love. She shared in our joys as if they were her own. She could tell when something was off and insisted on figuring out what it was. Kindness was the theme of the celebration of her life.

     What legacy do you want to leave with those you love and even with the stranger you encounter at the grocery store? Jesus left us a great example. He knew from the beginning what the future held for Him and the agonizing death He would face in the human body the Creator now occupied.

     While He lived on the earth, He knew His mission. He stopped along the way for anyone in need. Even in a crowd of people surrounding and following Him, He recognized the belief of one woman waiting to touch the hem of His garment for healing. (Matthew 9 and Mark 5) He always stopped for the individual in need. He did not avoid the difficult situations and He loved to hang out with the people others tended to avoid.

    

     As you continue to deepen your relationship with Him, you may find yourself being the one to stop, to listen, the one to pray with a hurting friend, the one searching for peace in a tense situation, the one avoiding gossip at the lunch table, the one sitting with the lonely person in the corner. Seeing the world through the lens of Christ brings situations into focus you may not have noticed before you knew Him. He changes everything.

And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (Read this whole chapter!)

     So what matters in the midst of these short wisps of life? When we arrive in heaven our faith will be realized, all of our hopes fulfilled, but love will remain. I hope you have felt the love of Christ in your life. Have you encountered it in someone else, like my friend Patsy? We will miss her every day of our short lives, but she accepted Christ over the last two years of her life even before she knew about her cancer. I KNOW it was God’s timing. He will be there with just the right people, with just the right Words, when you are ready. Are you?

Dear Jesus,

Seeing the world through Your eyes changes everything. I pray this morning for each person reading these words. I pray they will seek You and Your endless love. Thank you for the people around us who take the time to listen, to be kind, to be patient and to love unconditionally.

Help us to see.

Amen