Passing on a Legacy

We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.  -Psalm 78:4

I often think about the legacy I am leaving my girls.  I idolize my own mother and hold her in the highest respect yet I can remember a time when I couldn't imagine sacrificing the way that she did for her children.  She gave up her "career" when she married and knowing she always wanted a family, had six children.  We never truly appreciated her until we were older and began to understand all that raising children entailed.  She did most of it by herself with my dad taking a very traditional role of breadwinner.

I wasn't sure for a long time if I even wanted children.  That changed when I met the right man.  Then I couldn't imagine giving up my "career" to be at home.  Forced to make a choice, I couldn't imagine leaving my first baby for a full time job and part time wasn't an option in that moment.  Enduring years of comments about me "not working", I struggled with how my girls would perceive me.  Would they think of me the same way I had thought of my own mom?  My life is very different from hers.  I have, in fact, worked outside the home almost the entire time I have been raising my children.  It hasn't been in the same line of work as before but it always brought something to the family that could help either financially or in kind.

I listen to women who have gone on with their careers or started something new and hear them say, "I wanted my girls to have a strong role model.  I wanted them to know that their mother was passionate about something and went after it."  Does that mean I didn't?  Should I not have "given up everything" for them?  I can't imagine doing things any differently but now I wonder again about what legacy I am creating for my girls.  Would I want them to do the same thing I have done and my mother did?  I'm not sure.  I think there needs to be a balance.  I think I might have been too all or nothing in my choices.  It almost feels like heresy to write this down.

So now as I think about pursuing something for myself, I know it will mean sacrifices from my family because we've all grown used to the routine we have.  Will they survive?  Most likely.  Will I?  I'm not so sure.  I'm still looking up from the bottom of the priority list.

To have passion, to have a dream, to have a purpose in life. And there are three components to that purpose, one is to find out who you really are, to discover God, the second is to serve other human beings, because we are here to do that and the third is to express your unique talents and when you are expressing your unique talents you lose track of time.  -Deepak Chopra

All your actions, words, and knowledge that you share while you are living become the gift that you leave when you are gone. ~ Jim Allen 

The Legacy You Leave

All You will leave behind for the world to remember is Your Legacy, so ask yourself:

Will you have earned the respect of your peers and the admiration of your critics?

Will you have acted humbly at the peak of success and graceful in the face of defeat?

Will you have kept your childlike wonder and reveled in the beauty of the world and the small miracles that each day brought?

Will you be remembered for how often you laughed and brought smiles to the hearts of others?

Will small children and the elderly have been overjoyed to be around you?

Will others have trusted you with their inner most secrets?

Will you have forgiven and offered heartfelt apology?

Will you have looked for the very best, and done your utmost to build worth, in others?

Will you have fed a hungry child or clothed a naked man or given hope to a stranger in dire need?

Will you have left this world a better place by the life you have lived?

What kind of Legacy will You Leave?

© 2000 by Rick Beneteau
http://rickbeneteau.com

 Have a Blessed Best Life Day!