Love, Trust, Count - by Susan Barclay

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 Your Blessings

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 For more of my writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.ca 

Leaving a Legacy - Joylene M. Bailey

The words “Leaving a Legacy” bring up an instant image for me. 

I was about 8 or 9 years old on a visit to Grandpa and Grandma in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.  Getting up in what seemed like the middle of the night to use the bathroom wasn’t scary because everything about Grandma & Grandpa’s house felt cozy and safe. Leftover smells of veranika and farmer sausage, the carpeted hallway, Grandma's sewing room walls covered with pictures of cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives in outdated clothing, the mantel clock on Grandpa’s desk that chimed the quarter hours like a guardian angel. All added to the embrace that was Grandpa & Grandma’s house.  So it didn’t frighten me to hear voices murmuring when the house should have been dark and quiet.

Grandpa & Grandma’s bedroom was across from mine, and that night as I padded to the bathroom there they were.  In their pajamas, kneeling by their bed, side-by-side, backs towards me, praying - in Low German with smatterings of English. 

In that brief moment I heard them pray for their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, and future generations to come.  In my 8-year-old head it was just Grandma & Grandpa praying, but that image was burned into my brain.

When I think about it now I see the significance of this seemingly simple vignette.  First of all, I know without a doubt that this wasn’t a one-time thing. It was something they did every night.  And, I am humbled and overjoyed to realize that those many many years ago they were praying for my grandson, whose first birthday is today.  Their prayers still cover my family. My prayers will join theirs as I pray for my children, grandchildren, and generations to come.   

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa. What a legacy!