As I was thinking this month
about leaving a legacy, I thought about my writing, and about the
epitaph I would most want inscribed on my gravestone. Then I re-read the
writing prompt and saw that we were to “write a memorial-building account of
something [we] want to pass on to [others]…about God’s goodness in [our lives].”
That made me think again with new direction.
In January I wrote on my
personal blog about having chosen a word for the year. Initially, I identified
the word as ‘habits’; later, I defined it more specifically as ‘trust’. As it
turned out, there was a lot I was going to have to trust God for this year.
And, praise God, He is faithful. He has shown His goodness time and time again.
Looking back on my life, I see
many stories I can share with family and friends to testify of God’s provision.
Some examples:
·
He allowed me to
be born into a Christian family, to attend church and participate actively in a
community of faith;
·
When I was seven,
He (literally) saved my life by stopping me from running into a bog;
·
Even though I did
some dumb things when I was a pre-teen and a teenager, He spared me from harm;
·
He didn’t always
answer my prayers the way I wanted Him to, and in retrospect, I see how He was
guiding my path and keeping me from heartache;
·
Just at the right
time, He blessed me with a god-fearing husband. We have been together now for
more than twenty years and are raising two beautiful children;
·
He gave me a
talent and a dream and opportunity to pursue both;
·
Through different
events, He’s taught me that my heart and home are large enough to embrace
people in need, and He’s more than big enough to take care of us all.
I could go on but you get
the idea. As the song says, “our God is able to do exceeding abundantly,
exceeding abundantly above/all our hopes, all our dreams, all we ever hope to
be/our God is able to do.”
If I could model the
legacy I want to leave, I would demonstrate the following:
love God, love people; trust God, count your blessings. I leave you with this hymn as a reminder to do just that.
______________
Count our blessings... The song brings tears to my eyes, Susan. It didn't used to. When I first learned it as a non-believing church attender, I found it smarmy, sucky, naive. I had no idea, yet, how God had directed my path so far, and how he would continue to direct it as he drew me to him. Now, as I read your list above, your life seen through God's eyes, and think of what I know about my life from that same perspective, I can't thank him enough for the blessings.
ReplyDeleteYou've given me a wonderful warmth on an icy Alberta morning. Thank you.
what a wonderful way to end the month of November
ReplyDeleteYes, Susan, this definitely reminds me of many times God has been watching out for me, lest I step into a bog. Sometimes it seemed he wasn't answering my prayers when, really, he was protecting me from what he knew would be wrong for me.
ReplyDeleteLike Tracy, I say, "What a wonderful way to end the month of November." Thanks.
Susan, this post was absolutely beautiful. I've had to learn to trust God through all the bad stuff with Christopher. He is faithful. He is the One True Jehovah Jireh. You reminded me of this through your post. I do remember your personal word for the year. I'm thankful you knew you could trust Him throughout this year. Yes, let's count our blessing.
ReplyDeleteEr, blessingS. :-)
ReplyDelete