Saturday, January 23, 2010

All Things Heart & Home Guest Post

There are blogs that make you want to redecorate your home…

and those that make you want to try a new craft project….

those that make you wish you were a better photographer, cook, etc…

& then there are those that just stop you in your tracks & make you think!

I have been so blessed by Robin @ All Things Heart & Home since finding her blog.

Although she would never admit it Robin is so profoundly wise! And her wisdom comes from her honesty & speaking from the heart!

I have learned from Robin that we all leave a legacy & it is our choice what that legacy is. We must choose to be present & conscious of our legacy in the making.

If I could wish one thing for you in 2010 its that you follow Robin’s blog & be inspired to live your legacy!

I asked Robin to come on over and share some Legacy wisdom with you, so without further ado…..

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Living My Legacy~One Day At A Time

Robin Gay

All Things Heart and Home

“Every child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right”.

Proverbs 20:11

I believe that each one of us is living the legacy that we will one day leave.  It doesn’t really matter if we acknowledge it. How we live today is how we’ll be remembered when we’re gone from this earth. It’s become my passion to be intentional about living my legacy. I wasn’t always this way though. My eyes were opened on a cold January afternoon fourteen years ago. It was a trip to the grocery store that changed my life…

Juggling the complex schedules of four teenagers was pressing in on my last nerve. Truth be told, something was always pressing on my last nerve. That day I still needed to grocery shop and do a mountain of laundry.

I left the kids at home and headed to the grocery store.

Inside the store, I pushed the cart up and down the aisles trying not to mow down the huge display of spam. Who eats spam anymore? How old is that stuff anyway? My mind was racing with nonsense when my buggy nearly hit the back of his heel.

I gasped and the gray haired man turned around.

“Hello, neighbor” he grinned.

Standing there, in a dark blue suit, crisp white shirt and a shiny red tie my neighbor Robert, looked completely put together.

“And how are you this fine day Robin?” He sounded surprisingly chipper for a man who’d just six months before lost his wife of thirty years.

“I’m okay Robert, how are you doing?” My voice dripped with pity. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you” he said looking down and stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. “ It was hard at the end. She put up a fight though.”

Suddenly, he looked right into my eyes. “It’ll probably sound terrible to you, but I’m kind of excited about starting over.”

Pregnant pause. What the heck do I say to that?

“Well, that’s good.” I stumbled. “So is there anyone in particular?”

“No, no, no. Not at all. I just know what I’m looking for this time. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but it would be someone exactly opposite of Sheila.”

Dear Father in heaven, could this GET any more awkward?

“I mean, I loved her” he added quickly, “but she and I had a rocky thirty years. She was, I guess you’d say, a little difficult.”

He forced a laugh. “She’d say the same about me. Anyway, next time, I want less drama. More peace. And more laughing.”

Time stopped. My chest felt heavy. I couldn’t breathe. This was a God Thing…

We said our good byes. I felt overwhelmingly sad. For them. And for my husband Mike and I.

The lights in the store were too bright. I looked at my feet. The floor was too shiny.

That’s how Mike would feel if I died tomorrow…

It was true and I knew it.

Uptight. That was me. Life as a rule overwhelmed me. Some days I went from drama to drama.

Finally getting to my car, shivering, I put my head in my hands and wept. Slowly the heater started to warm the cold air around me as I heard a clear message from God’s heart to mine.

If I die before Mike, I don’t want him to look for someone who is the opposite of me. Like Sheila, I needed, less drama. More laughter. More peace.

That very day I came home and wrote down what I wanted Mike to say about me when I was gone. What I wanted my children to say about me. The list has become my commitment to living my legacy.

*She loved God passionately

*She loved her family passionately

*We always knew she was praying for us

*She made our house a home. Peaceful and safe

*She supported us and encouraged us constantly

And for Mike to say…*She was my best friend

That’s a nut-shell version of the legacy I want to one day leave. I’m so thankful for that cold January afternoon when my eyes were opened to living my legacy~one day at a time…

 

 

 

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