Legacy

by May 8, 2020Easy and Light

Legacy

I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

 

In the flower bed next to my front walkway grow several red primroses. These hardy flowers bloom in the spring and never fail to make me smile. Unlike the rest of the flowers in my garden, which I bought at the local garden store or grew from seed, these primroses have a history – a legacy. Primroses are perennials that grow in clumps. After a few years, as the clumps get bigger, they can be divided into smaller bunches and replanted. One small flower can, in time, turn into a whole garden.

The primroses in my garden were first grown by my great-great-grandmother. She divided them and passed them down to her children and grandchildren, who in turn passed them down to theirs. My mother gave me some after we moved into our current home. In addition to brightening up my front walk, these flowers remind me of my history and my family ties.

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to build a legacy of faith in our families. Whether we are first generation believers or can trace our spiritual heritage many years, give us the grace and wisdom to be Christ-like influencers to the next generation.

When I was much younger, I used to bemoan the fact that I didn’t have an amazing salvation story. I would hear people share their testimonies of what their life was like before Christ and the incredible transformation that took place after believing in Jesus. My story wasn’t like that. I grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus at a young age. Both my parents were raised in Christian homes, along with their parents and grandparents before them. I can trace my roots back to the 1600s, where my ancestors fled Europe due, in part, to persecution over their belief in adult baptism.

It wasn’t until I was older that I appreciated my heritage. I may not have experienced a radical before and after story like Saul/Paul, but I do have a story, with a richness all its own. I don’t know how the seed of faith was initially planted in my family, but, like the primroses, it has grown and blossomed into a legacy that I am now passing down to my own children.

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