Fearlessly Courageous
6 13 2023
Desk of Dennis Piller
Chasing Life or Leaving a Legacy
We have survived Covid. It was a time like no other. Many were mandated to stay home but what exactly did we do with that time?
We have all probably been guilty of chasing life. Maybe that’s where you are again now. There is nothing wrong with ambition. Working harder, going after your goals, trying to provide a better more secure life for your family. Planning for retirement. We all have dreams that we chase. I think chasing life for another might be the knowledge that they are in the winter of their life and want to live every moment to its fullest. To not sweat the small stuff. They want to be different and more kind than they were in the first two-thirds of life. Maybe they want more time with their grown children and their children. There are many different dream chasers on every block.
But I think there is another level of Chasing Life and Chasing Dreams. I think it’s about being intentional about leaving a legacy. I think your legacy speaks more directly about others. Is the 1st on your legacy list being out of debt or leaving a lot of money behind? And if you achieve that… is that really the most important part of their legacy? When I looked up the definition, I was actually shocked.
1. An amount of money or property left to someone in a will.
Synonyms: bequest, inheritance, endowment, gift, patrimony, settlement, birthright.
2. Heirloom: Something handed down or received from an ancestor or predecessor.
But where was the story…the values…the character…the meaning of my life?
But it got me thinking about the time not long ago when Covid literally had a world quarantined at home with loved ones. My family. My blood.
How will I outlive my own life?
What is the example I left during lockdown? I had more time. So, what fruit, what living testimony, did I leave behind that was thought out, willful, and maybe fought out too? Fought out, because we have some walls and habits we have built over much of our lives. “MY WAY”. Honestly, I didn’t use the time as spiritually well as I would have thought. Even though I had more time, I was so disjointed. The things I never had time to do before, I still wasn’t doing! Our world was broken in so many ways but I could have done a much better job of bringing God’s truth home! But probably only got a C at best.
Our Way has got to come down!
Our legacy is truly a lifetime of choices. It was not just the Covid years. I think we each have periods of our life that we are not especially proud of. But I am absolutely positive that I serve a God of a second chance. (Personally, I have wondered whether I have pressed Him on that 70 x7 rule of His. But NO, it’s never too late to come home to “His Way” and leave My Way behind. I am part of a group of soldiers in Christ that meet faithfully every week at my church. We help each other in all aspects of living a Godly life. Why? To NOT walk alone. To become a better man… husband… father… friend… better morally, in character, and integrity, lifting up the message of Christ that we might save one. Lift one!
One thing all our men/soldiers agree on.
A good soldier leaves NO ONE behind.
Look! Each of us leaves a legacy. Can I exhort you to up your game at home? Let’s at least start there with our spouse and children. Or if they’re grown, your parents, if they’re still around, a relative, your inner circle of friends. A small group if you have one. How about making sure each of them has a bible and knows how to read it? Be sure they know how to pray. Write a letter and talk about life in the context of “What would Jesus Do?” Believe me, Prayer changes things. Christ left us that model in the Our Father. If you are not the teacher type, preview a youtube video and play it as a family. It’s ok to stumble through it. Make these next days or weeks to be the most purposeful, memorable, and impactful of your family’s life. And maybe we will be a little sad when it’s over as you will be missing the time at home that you used to reset your family values in every sense of the word.
Lord, help me stand up and lead. Lord strengthens me in my resolve to serve you and serve my family. Lord teach me to pray.
Michael W Smith Help is on the Way
https://www.facebook.com/michaelwsmithofficial/videos/234772211049726/
