Thankful to be Part of a Living and Loving Legacy

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how God leads us thru life. How if we listen and if we follow there are so many good things. Along that road we will encounter difficulties, painful situations, and times when we are just not comfortable with what is happening. We never know where it all will lead, but we do know that if we let Him, that God is in control and that He knows best.

Along these same lines I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the legacies we build and we leave as we move on thru different points in our life. This leads to thinking about the legacies that I have seen started and put in place for me and my children and their children and so on. I then begin thinking of my parents and my grandparents and all that they have given to me over the years. The love they have shown, the examples they have set, the people that they are. It is around this topic, that I find my “thankfuls” for this week.

I am thankful for my parents and my grandparents. I have never doubted their love for me or their support. No matter what I have done or where I have gone, they have been right there with me.

I am thankful to have been raised by parents that loved the Lord and taught us the importance of following Him in all that we do. Last week, I wrote this post about a lesson that I learned from a situation as a teenager. I wrote about how the words Dad shared with me at that time have stayed with me and helped me to grow and to recognize how God works in our lives. I’ve also shared this post about a time Mom helped me in a similar manner. One time among many when she reminded me how much God cares about me and how much He loves me. I could fill pages with similar stories of the times my parents took opportunities such as these to lead and guide my sisters and I to the Lord. Through their love for God and their love for us, they have given us a rich and powerful legacy by which to live our lives and to raise our own children.

In that post last week, I also briefly joked about Dad being my youth minister. I don't know many minister's kids that DON'T joke about it a little bit or have a funny story or two to share --including Dad who is a preacher's kid himself and has shared a few funny stories with us over the years :). Truth is, regardless of what our parents do, as teenagers we probably all have moments when we'd rather be anywhere else but with them. A fact I'm not crazy about admitting and one I'm not looking forward to as my kids get older, but a fact it is... all part of growing up... part of spreading our wings and trying to find our independence. Regardless of all of that, I can also say truthfully that, while there were moments when I wished his role might have been different, I was ALWAYS proud of him for what he did. He taught me alot about how to lead, how to serve, how to respond with grace in difficult situations, and how to fully rely on God. I am thankful for all of it and am quite proud to be a minister's child!

I am thankful for the many and varied roads the Lord has led me down thru the course of my life. I don’t think we should live in the past, dwell on it too much, or focus on regrets… what’s done is done and I really think God wants us to live for today. However, I do think it is important to remember the past and to remember the lessons we have learned along the way. It is important to recognize how God worked in our lives in particular situations and the ways in which we have grown. I, too, thinks it's important that we share these with others. It's part of our witness and our testimony to the world.

In closing, I am so very thankful for each and every lesson taught, every story shared, every wise word given, and every prayer said on my behalf as I have walked this journey of life. All of this makes up a rich and worthy legacy of which I am proud to be a part of and sharing with my children today!



To join us in sharing our thanksgivings this week, visit Laurie at "Women Taking a Stand".