The wrapping paper is scattered

Ribbons adorn the family and the floor

Gifts have been “oohed and ached” over and now clutter the couch crowding out the sprawling bodies

Contentment and thankfulness fill the room and a brief moment of silence enters as each person is lost in his/her own thoughts.

I find my favorite spot on the couch and snuggle into the cushions when all thoughts of happy turn quickly to the absence of a loved one.

It’s been almost a year since my mom found her way home to Jesus and the gaping hole left behind takes some of the glitter out of the brightest ornament on the tree. Inwardly my downward spiral into loss stops mid-twirl as the word legacy crosses its path. The deep ache of loss becomes a filling of the heart with hope and memories when legacy is added to the equation.

My mom left a beautiful legacy of a life well-lived. An example to many that life is not what you expect from it, but how you live it and who you live it for- yourself or for others. It is a looking beyond this life to God who is the provider of life and the orchestrator of how life should be lived.

What if we thought of legacy as the story of one’s own life? What if we all moved past the china, jewelry and family heirlooms that are part of our family’s history and instead dived into the story of who we are, what we are becoming and how we want to live the life we have been given? What if the legacy of our loved ones, the story of their lives, filled the empty spots and restored the memories into a piece of our story?

In the telling of our story and our chance to leave a piece of ourselves to those who walk behind or in front of us, we have the honor of accepting God and His legacy into our lives. His Word shares legacy with all and teaches us how to live our own story.

[Tweet “Legacy is allowing God’s story to become woven with ours.”]

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:20-25)

Are we willing to live God’s Word in our lives and leave a legacy of God’s story woven with ours? When loss overtakes us, will we look to the legacy of that person’s story and carry it into the future to become part of our legacy? Will you accept all God has given you and live your life as His reflection  and His light for all?

As I wrote the questions above, I know that I need to spend time reflecting on each one and learn how I can carry out my legacy that began so beautifully in my mom’s life. I appreciate each and everyone of you and I am so thankful that you joined The Weekend Brew to share your stories and spend a few minutes reading mine.

Blessings for a New Year of listening and learning how God’s story can become ours!

1. Share a post, photo scripture — anything that breathes life and encourages.
2. Grab the button to use in your post (it’s in the footer of my site), or simply link back here.
3. Visit the person who linked up before you (and a few others along the way)!