Dear Grandchildren:
On February 15th, 2008, a doctor in Arizona told me I had Parkinson’s. I left his office in shock of the news, and I really didn’t want to believe him. Grandma was great and lovely, helping me to face reality. Over the next few months, I learned everything I could about the disease called Parkinson’s and how I could proceed to live with it. Eventually, with medication and much prayer, I have been able to live a normal life. My goal was to commit to the fact that I may have Parkinson’s, but Parkinson’s doesn’t have me.
Since that day, I have been motivated to ask myself serious questions about my mortality. One question was, “What would my legacy be?”
A legacy is something we leave behind to the next generation. It can be possessions that we place in the hands of others. (By the way, one of my favorite Zig Ziglar jokes was, how much did he leave his family when he died? He left all of it!) It can be memories and conversations that have taken place over the years. It can be experiences we did together such as going golfing. As I thought about it, the more I hoped it would be about my relationships with people, especially those that I love. I certainly don’t want to be remembered for my golf score or my three-point shot or that I had a hobby farm and my handle was Farmer D. No, I hoped people in my life would remember me based on the relationships we had together.
As I thought about all these things, I realized I could choose today the legacy I want to leave others. Yes, today, I can choose my legacy. What are you saying Farmer D? I can be intentional about it because whatever I want my legacy to be, then today I have to live that legacy out. Here is a key point I want to make. What this does is, it puts my focus on others in my life instead of on me.
Wow! Did you get that last point?
So what I am saying is: Live today the legacy you want to leave. In fact, you could say it’s a daily agenda to live each day the legacy you want to leave. Most people don’t get to choose when and how they’re going to die. But, we all can decide how we’re going to live. If we would live this way, I’m sure we would have less regrets later when we come to the end of our life.
I realize that my opinions about a legacy have to do with my being seventy-two years old. But, it’s investing in the future; it’s investing in the next generation. Even if you’re a student in school, it’s never too early to think about building your life around positive choices. Whether you realize it or not, you’re building your legacy or we could call it your reputation. It really starts to sink in when you start a family, and you have children, and you start to see your legacy grow in them.
As I was thinking about this word legacy and how we can approach it in our thinking, I call it investing in the next generation. I call it investing in the people that we love from our families and our friends. We understand investing when we talk about money. Here the same principle applies, only we’re using phrases like unconditional love for our families, or a foundation of faith that will be an example to our families. How to live life with success and happiness. How to live with emotional security. And finally, how to live and work together as a family. By the way, Jesus invested his very own life for all of us that believe in him, and what an example to follow!
So how about you? What kind of investment are you making for those who follow behind you? Are you making the most of your legacy as you live your life everyday?
I’ll close with a wonderful example I heard several years ago.
When you were born the doctor slapped you on the butt and you started crying and everyone in the room started smiling. At your funeral, because of your legacy, hopefully everyone will be crying but you will be smiling.
Start living your legacy today!
Until next month.
Grandpa