Beginning a Christmas Legacy

There was a phone call that needed to be made and I had been putting it off all day. A church friend from many years ago had passed away. I was a young mother, she was older, more experienced and a gal who was full of life! She was bold, outspoken, passionate and lots of fun. We weren't exceptionally close, but she had a fierce love for anyone she knew. Our paths grew apart, but her family always held a special part in our life with fond memories of days gone by.

The phone call was to be made to her son, one I had not seen in over 20 years. Would he remember who I was, he was just a young man when I last saw him. The call was placed and as I identified myself, he greeted me by name warmly. A beautiful conversation flowed filled with memories and sharing of his mother's influence on many. He did remember our family and shared fond memories of families in the church who meant much to him.

While we caught up from the years, he shared that in his grief, he found his mother's bible and gazed at her notes and highlights. Her physical presence was gone, but her markings in the Bible were heartfelt and comforting gifts to her family will remain forever.

This sparked a question in my heart - how will I be remembered once I am gone? A subject no one likes to dwell on, but in reality, now is the time to be laying the foundation, especially as mothers.

The passing of a mother is one of life's deepest losses. What if as mothers, we live our lives purposefully building a legacy that will help our children know and continue to feel the love only a mother can give. Marking the bible spoke volumes of my friends faith. Do our children know what it important to us? May it be more than trivial or temporal things, but deep and abiding faith, hope and love.

The holidays are a perfect opportunity to express love and begin unfolding a legacy. Through our words, actions, traditions and celebrations we show what is of value to us. What we worship forms our heart attitudes and is then reflected out from our lives. At Christmas, when our focus is on the beauty and blessing of our Lord Jesus, we gaze and fill our heart with the story of redemption, giving, grace, love and peace. Those are some gifts to share this Christmas season!

Fellow Mama, may we begin this season to put Christ first in our heart, our home and our family. It is a beautiful testimony to our children and lasting gift to pass along.

Comments

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress. When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.

Joyfull Living

Search This Blog