Legacy

It’s 5:57 am according to my Fitbit and all other electronics :-) I didn’t get up at 4:30 when the first alarm went off, that happening less and less these days. But I’m up now, and I have some thing I want to write before I forget!!

We can all make plans, and have expectations or hope that things will go the way we intended, but to be honest I’m starting to believe that we really should hope that things won’t go the way we intend and just let go, step aside, and see what God does. Because when we do - I’m telling you the results are so much better than we could ever have imagined.

At church yesterday, one of the things we were asked to do was to think about our hopes and dreams for ourselves; like lifetime hopes and dream. What is it that in our lifetime we hope to accomplish or dreams that if things were to turn out just right, what would it look like? You know it could be a career achievement, a particular place to live, climbing a mountain, traveling to a particular place - it could be so many things. I pondered what that would be for me; it would for sure be that every single one of our kids and their spouses would experience for a lifetime, a deep and abiding relationship with God. The kind of relationship that keeps them filled with abundant joy and radically grows their faith and hope. I want to leave our children a holy legacy of faith. That is my hope and dream for myself -  for John and me as parents. That’s it. If nothing else that I come up with in my little pea brain for creativity or goals ever comes to fruition, if that one hope and dream will be the thing - I will die believing I have done well, that the thing I left behind will be worthwhile.

We were also encouraged to consider this for our community - that’s another blog post - but one that I really should consider for a while and write so I know my goals, and how to work toward them.

What happened after church was a moment that I want to tuck away in my heart and hold on to, and come back to often as a reminder of just how incredibly wonderful our life is, and what a good and generous, loving, Father we have. After working out a tough schedule for as many people to go apple picking together as we could, we landed on Sunday after church. When church was over people were asking what are we doing? Are we going straight to Eckert’s or what? Everyone was hungry. Time constraints really were an issue for a couple of people and financial issues as well. So I suggested we all just run by the house, grab something to eat quickly and then head on down to the orchard. That seemed to go over well. On the way, Rachel asked what the plan was so I told her we were all going to the house, eating everything in sight, and then going on to the orchard. As a side note, she suggested Brauetigums rather than Eckerts, which we did end up doing.

We arrived and the other kids had already started making sandwiches and brats and whatever they could find for themselves. We just jumped in and did the same. Everyone made their own food, and claimed a spot to sit and eat quickly. But in those moments, I looked around me at the beautiful crowd of faces, and I felt like heaven had come down to visit our home. All of our kids, and all but one of the son-in-loves, and all the grandchildren were present. There were lively conversations, and nursing moms and babes, and boisterous kids. I was steeped in the people I love. Those moments, though they were brief, reminded me of my priorities. I was also reminded that I couldn’t have choreographed that scene if I had tried. God is the great creator, and he knows my heart so very intimately. He knows how to show his love in a way that I can receive it and recognize it.

I will hold on to that for as long as I can and hope that I will have eyes to recognize the next encounter that he provides. I feel his favor, and relish the joy.

Thank you Father God.