MOM – HER LEGACY

Just this past Monday, my wonderful mom went home to be with the Lord.

Mom had a wonderful laugh, anyone who knew her, knew THAT for sure and can probably hearing it in their heads at this moment.  I can.  She also had a wonderful singing voice. Distinct, like no other person I knew.  Again, some of you can hear it now.  I can.

Every person that passes through this life leaves a legacy.  Whether good or bad, they leave a legacy. Some have their names on buildings. Others have scholarships and trusts. Mom left behind a legacy too.  It wasn’t the memory of her laugh or her beautiful singing voice. It was me. Well, not totally, but I am a part of her legacy.  Not because I am her daughter, but because I am her sister – her sister in Christ.

Mom called nearly every woman in her life “Sister”, even me sometimes. The truth is, in the natural, we are not bound together by the same bloodline.  I was adopted by my parents from another mother who loved me. But spiritually, we have the same bloodline – the precious blood of Jesus.

Mom loved to talk about the things of God.  She was sensitive to His voice.  She read His word daily and lived her life according to what she knew He had for her.  She praised Him for all He’d given her and all He promised for her future.  She had a boldness to speak to anyone and everyone about her Lord.  If you had a conversation with her about the things of God, you weren’t the only one.  She talked to everyone about Him.

The Word tells us in Mark 16:15 that Jesus told us to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.” This passage is often referred to as “The Great Commission”. It is not intended only for ministers, but for all Christians. Mom did that. She went into all HER world and spoke the Gospel. She wanted everyone to know her Lord as their Lord.

If she spoke the Gospel to you and if you accepted Christ as your Lord, you are a part of her legacy – just like me. Her legacy will continue in me, in you, in others she met. It becomes our legacy too. The difference between this legacy and the one with buildings with names emblazed on them is eternal versus temporal.  Those buildings will deteriorate someday, they could be renamed, they could be destroyed by fire, storms, etc., but a legacy like the one Mom left behind, is eternal.  The rewards of her legacy are there for her, for me, for you, for all of eternity.  No other legacy is greater.

Psalms 78:4 (GNB)

We will not keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about the Lord’s power and his great deeds and the wonderful things he has done.

Because of this legacy, our best years together are still to come.  My mom is in my future because of her love for the Lord and my love for the Lord.  We will have eternity together and for that, I am eternally grateful.  Thank You, Lord for giving us eternity with You.

I was tremendously blessed with a beautiful, wonderful Mom and, while I will still miss her between now and then, knowing we will have eternity together makes the wait a whole lot sweeter.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

~Jennifer