Collecting a Harvest of Truth for Generations to Come
By Sarah Mockler
My fingers glided over the small, wooden jewelry box, tracing the cluster of painted florals that graced the top. I noticed one of the hinges was broken, but that didn’t stop me from gingerly lifting the lid to peek inside to see what treasures lay within. A handful of colorful broaches from a bygone era stared back at me with all their glitter and gleam, glinting as they caught the sunlight in the room where my grandmother was carefully going through her late mother’s possessions. To my six-year-old self they were a trove of beauty and something to treasure … and also probably worth a small fortune.
I couldn’t imagine why my grandmother would feel comfortable with parting with pieces of such value, which is why I felt like the Queen of England when I left the farmhouse that day with the wooden jewelry box tucked securely beneath my arm. Diamonds, emeralds, rubies … I named the gems I recognized on the ride home, knowing that they all denoted great worth. What I didn’t know was that my treasure trove was a bunch of costume jewelry, value-less except for the sentiment that was attached to them. But I was smitten from the start.
Those pins adorned my church peacoat as a tot and my dress-up gowns when playing royalty with the cousins. They may not have been worth much to an antique appraiser, but they were priceless to me because they belonged to someone special in my family who wore them on her church peacoat as she lived her life, loved her husband, raised her kids, and served others in her community.
Today there is a bookshelf in my daughter’s room that was made by my daddy when I was just a girl. And sitting atop one of the shelves rests the little, wooden jewelry box with the florals painted on top. Both hinges have now broken, but all the pins still live happily inside, dreaming of the day when they will be discovered by a new little girl to love and put on her church coats.
It’s a small story. So small I could easily forget the significance of it, unless I purpose to remember that value is determined not so much in monetary worth but in the way the heart and soul remembers.
Anything with a story catches my eye and pulls at my heart. Dusty books with heartfelt inscriptions from a giver of yesteryear. A set of family silver with its timeworn patina that was lovingly labored over with polishing rag and elbow grease for every family celebration. A packet of letters yellowed with age and tied with blue silk ribbon. A family heirloom that has been handed down for generations. Photos in black and white.
You could say that antiquing and a love of all things “old” is in my blood. But if you were to ask me why, it has not so much to do with monetary value as it does with the story that surrounds the object.
It’s the same when I ponder legacy. When I think of legacy, I don’t think of a gilded inheritance that set us up for early retirement. I think of a harvest of wisdom, a collection of truth, a bounty of life-lessons that have been curated over the years and then intentionally preserved for future generations.
I realize this is not the classic definition, but as someone who has spent a season of late pondering the cultivation of legacy in my daily life, this is where the concept has come to rest in my own soul — our legacy lies in the stories we will tell.
The stories of God’s provision…
The tales of His deliverance…
The ways the Lord has been faithful…
How He has answered prayer…
Which rhythms and traditions breathe fresh air into our life-seasons and calendar year…
How we have traced God’s fingerprints in our lives…
Ways we intentionally loved those He placed on our path…
I look over the meaningful landscape of my 35 years and see many women of legacy impacting the timeline of my life through their examples:
My Grandma Guthrie left me a heritage of home with her classic Sunday cinnamon rolls and the example of being faithful in the Word through a small copy of Our Daily Bread next to her open Bible on the kitchen table. She was an example of enjoying simple staples and practicing simple disciplines of life with a heavenward heart.
I never met Grandma Shirley, but my husband’s eyes still grow soft whenever he talks about the eternal impact of his “classy grandma” — a widow who devoted herself to prayer and is well-remembered by those in her family for her classic prayer method: “It’s always safe to pray for a soft heart … because God can do anything with a soft heart.” She was an example of taking up the matriarchal mantle of prayer. Because of her impact upon his life, she has also now greatly affected mine.
Their stories are finished — but, dear reader, our stories are still in the making. The reality is that the legacy we leave tomorrow starts with our actions today. It may seem like we will have plenty of time to focus on the impact we want to leave “later” — a legacy collected in our retirement or awarded to us by others in a glowing eulogy — but legacy accrues in tandem with our years and is lived out each and every day on the landscape of our glorious mundane.
With that golden truth in our mind’s eye, I want to explore three keys to lasting, life-giving spiritual legacy to inspire you towards meaningful living today.
Key No. One
Our Focus
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
When life is in full swing and our eyes are fixed upon the next achievement, season, or deadline, it can distract us from thinking about the type of woman we want to be when we are 70. And yet, we would do well to ponder what the “mature” version of ourselves will “look” like. Not in terms of wrinkles and laugh-lines or hair color, but in terms of character (what convictions comprise us), content (what information fills us), and communication (what words come out of us).
Speaking for myself, I envision a woman who uses her words graciously, a wise woman who is full of the Word to the point where I “speak” Scripture, a woman who sees answers to prayer, and I could go on and on. But the reality is that those things will not magically come to pass when I am eligible for Medicare. Rather, the only way to reap spiritual legacy is to keep my eyes fixed on eternity — fixed upon the glorious moment that I will see Jesus face to face — and live my life today in accordance with that vision.
Legacy is best lived with the end goal in clear view. We will be more intentional in how we spend our moments and our days when we realize along with the missionary C.T. Studd that there is, “Only one life, ’twill soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” That statement can inspire and motivate our choices to be of the quality of Heaven.
A way that I am personally applying this principle is to be vigilant in the areas of social media and entertainment, and monitoring my level of “busyness” as those good things distract my focus from the best things. Wisely numbering my days — not in an attempt to see how many I may have — but to intentionally record what the Lord has done is a way I can store up legacy starting today.
Key No. two
Our Choices
“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1
To build a house — or in our case, a heritage — one must be intentional. What kinds of materials you use now will affect how long the house will last. How you design the layout will influence how you practice hospitality. While these are just two examples, it goes to show that we must be intentional in creating legacy. As in house-building, legacy-building has long-lasting impact and either graces or disgraces generations to come. A wise woman builds her heritage through the thoughtful selection of the finest materials available, she applies wise forethought to how her present actions will affect future outcomes, and she infuses meaning into her daily life to make it sparkle and shine.
What does living with intention look like? Simply stated, living with intention starts with one meaningful act at a time. Burdens faithfully prayed over, meals thoughtfully made and served, words fitly spoken — these are simple steps done in love.
An intentional woman possesses a heart-posture that thinks of others more than herself. When our thoughts are focused on the betterment and blessing of those we live with, love on, and serve, we tend to make better selections than if we were just doing a quick task in the name of “getting it done.” Doing everything as unto Jesus guarantees a life of beautiful intentionality.
Inevitably, intentionality comes down to choice. Are we choosing good, better, or best when it comes to the legacy we are leaving for others? This affects our daily decisions. We must wisely steward things like our hearts and minds, our schedules and to-do lists, our bookshelves and Friday night movie nights, and ensure that what we are partaking in, filling ourselves with, and meditating upon is turning our gaze towards things that are true, pure, and praiseworthy, rather than rooting it in the here and now. (See Philippians 4:8.)
Key No. Three
Our Lifestyle
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:2
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV
What keeps legacy alive and vibrant even when generations have passed? Developing a lifestyle of love and faithfulness preserves legacy so that it will bless many to come. It is true that we can be super-productive and full of good works, and yet if we fail to accomplish those tasks, assignments, responsibilities, and callings in love, the Bible says we are nothing more than “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1). In other words, we may be doing all the right things but lacking the key component that laces our lives together with grace and truth. It is true that what is done in love is done well. Legacy cannot sound where there is a clanging cymbal vying for attention, so let’s remember that how we live and love matters greatly!
Additionally, a life of faithfulness ensures that, no matter how long our lives may be, our legacies will be full and complete because we were faithful to finish what we were given. Start-up initiatives, half-finished projects, and a basket full of good intentions will fall short of speaking lasting truth to our own hearts or those that follow after us.
It is true that living a life of Christlike love and faithfulness is impossible outside of the enabling grace of God. But the astounding reality is that both love and faithfulness are fruit of the Spirit — meaning that as we abide in Christ, the natural result will be an inflow of love and faithfulness into every aspect of our life. (See Galatians 5:22–23.)
Our legacies lie in the stories we’ll tell. And so my prayer for you, dear reader, is that your life will be a story worth telling in the ways you love, pray, serve, bless, and faithfully minister to those on your path … beginning today.
While this is just a starting place, may this list inspire you to live in the here and now with glorious gusto and heavenly meaning!
Legacy of Wisdom — a woman who is a diligent student of the Word and invites His truth to infill and flow out of her.
Legacy of Service — a woman who cheerfully and practically attends to the needs of others without thought of recognition or reward.
Legacy of Hospitality — a woman who graciously opens her heart and home for the refreshment of others.
Legacy of Generosity — a woman who gives without reserve out of what the Lord has generously given her in time, talent, resource, finances, etc.
Legacy of Prayer — a woman who presses in to see the Lord’s will done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Legacy of Souls — a woman who is hungry to see others have a personal relationship with Christ.
Legacy of Devotional Excellence — a woman who cherishes time spent in His presence and whose radiance overflows into every aspect of her life as a result.
Legacy of Life Lived with a Heavenward Heart — a woman who infuses joyful sparkle into the everyday, realizing that nothing is common that God has made, and He has given us all things richly to enjoy.
This article was originally published in Issue 44.
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