5.04.2010

Wanna leave a legacy....

Hey all my friends and readers! I owe another apology for not posting enough updates. Honestly, the days swing by, slowly rotating like the planets through their orbits. Each day maps itself out, and we toddle along in the trails, pulled by the gravity of this activity, or that class, or by the simple fact of having nothing at all to do.

For a while, i was posting regularly, and having a plan of types of posts for each day certainly helped. LOL, did you like it? I don't get a lot of feedback on that. I should put up a counter of some sort.

There's a song by a Christian singer named Nichole Nordeman, called Legacy. It's really pretty, and the following really struck me

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy
I don’t have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthy list of all that I enjoy
It’s an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy
When I listen to it, I don't really hear her talking to God, I hear her talking to my children. How will they remember me? And I fear that they'll remember someone too busy with housework to play with them. Or that they'll remember the mom who was too tired to watch a movie. Or heaven forbid, too grumpy to laugh at their jokes. I want to leave a legacy of love and trust and relationship, not one where they remember a clean house, a stressed mom and no relationship. 
One of the speakers at the homeschooling conference talked about parents as the 'dreamkillers'. We must retain that love and trust, if we expect to have a legacy worthy of our children claiming. I just don't know how to let go (another good song, Amy Grant's "Got to Let it Go") But those treasures we choose, clean house, nice dishes (yep, lost another one today), and peace, will all decay in the memory of children, where they remember a smile when things were going wrong, a cheer where they expected criticism, a hug when they were feeling down. 
So if I don't post more than once a week, know that we're building a legacy here, and I'll try to post on Sunday nights, to let you know how we're doing. 

2 comments:

Zane W. Gray said...

How true that rings! There are times where I catch myself saying "no" or "not right now" or "maybe later" out of simple selfishness for my own time and my own priorities. It takes a conscious effort to build those memories with the kids, and become their friend. However, hearing them laugh at my jokes, seeing a smile on their face when I show them something new, or listening to them tell stories about their time with me when I bring them to work or take them to the grocery store (just one-on-one) makes it all worth it.

Eve | Inchworm Chronicles said...

I saw a link to your blog from mothering.com

I love Nichole N. She was the first date my DH and I went out on when we first met. good stuff. Coincidentally, I think of the same thing when I hear that song, too. Helps keep me pointing in the right direction.

I'm enjoying your blog very much! We are unschooling 4 kids.