A Lasting Legacy
By Jeannine Sawall
“But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear
Him, and his righteousness with their children's children - - with those who
keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”
Psalm 103:17-18
This month will mark
the third anniversary of my mom’s sudden passing. I don’t think there is a day
that has gone by, I haven’t thought of her. Yes, time has taken the sharp edge
off of my grief, but the missing goes on in earnest.
Having walked
through three years of her loss, I have been able to look back and see the
goodness of God. How He plucked her out of mire and muck and changed her life.
How He wooed her and how she fell head over heels in love with Jesus. When
I think of my mom...that is the lasting picture I have of her.
I think of her love
for Jesus and how she wanted everyone she knew to know Him and love Him. She
shared how Jesus can heal ANY hurt we have. How He provides strength for ANY
weakness we struggle with. How He fills ANY void we have in our life. And
when I say these things I have to preface: These were hard-fought lessons she
learned (and we learn). My mom had hard times, painful years and a life
made difficult by choices (like all of us)...but Jesus made a profound difference.
When we let Jesus
take control, take our hurts and disappointments; when we give up our burdens
to Him, the change is incredible. It changes everything about us. And the
change He worked in her life and works in our lives is what we live and eventually
leave behind...the incredible truth that Jesus is real, He really changes people, He really makes a difference, and He gives us a love
that overcomes any obstacle. He provides comfort and strength and rest and
hope! When we come to know Him, we find that every promise He has made is
truth.
Missing my mom has
been, and continues to be, one of the most difficult roads I've had to journey.
Yet during her life, she left behind a legacy of hope in Jesus. She passed that
legacy down to me and now, I am hopefully passing it down to my children. Our
relationship with Jesus goes with us to heaven. What we lived on earth is left
behind as our legacy. A relationship with Jesus makes a difference in where we
will spend eternity…it also makes a difference in the legacy we leave behind.
Live a life that will leave a Jesus legacy!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What type of
legacy are you living/leaving?
2. How does your
life make Jesus real to someone else?
FURTHER READING:
Jeannine is a wife
and mother of four active boys. She works in property management and is a part
of the Special Events team for Oakwood’s We Women ministries.
