Left Behind

"It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go." (1)

These are words from a song I love called "Three Wooden Crosses," sung by Randy Travis. As I recently listened to the words of this song I began to think of my own life and what it is that I will leave behind when the Lord calls me home.

I don't have much in the way of jewelry; my most precious piece is my wedding ring and it has more sentimental value to me than monetary value. Antiques? Well, I don't have much to pass on in that respect either. The two "antiques" I inherited from my Momma will mean nothing to anyone. One is an old wooden rolling pin and the other is an old roasting pan that was brought to the U.S. in 1952 and I'm sure she had it for a while before that. Most of what my husband and I have accumulated, while some things may have some value, our treasures really would be junk to most others.

To tell you the truth, I really don't want to be remembered for the "stuff" I leave behind. I've been saved a relatively short time, eleven years. I can't imagine any other way I would want to live my life today and be remembered for than....saved by grace, and dearly loved by my Lord.

We didn't raise our sons in a Christian home and certainly didn't pass on a spiritual foundation. My prayer is that I will be remembered for the last part of my life and not much for the first 44 years.

So what will I pass on to my grandchildren? I pray that as they grow they might see an old woman in love with Jesus...Someone who loves the Word and was always ready to share it with someone who didn't know Jesus. Oh how I pray that when (not if) trials and tribulation come, they might see a Baba who stands in the midst of it all with peace in her heart and trusting alone in her Savior. I want to be a grey-haired old lady who had a heart of compassion and a heart of no compromise of the truth of Scripture.

And I hope they see a woman dedicated to prayer.

My sons will not have these memories of me from when they were children. I pray I'll be a better example to their children as they grow. This is all I really want to leave behind in the hearts of my children and grandchildren and any other generation God might let me live to enjoy...the love I have for my Savior Jesus and the love I have for them. Perhaps someday someone might look at my grandchildren and say as Paul did in 2 Timothy 2:5 " I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."

What a wonderful legacy to leave behind! It's never too late to begin a legacy as Eunice did.

What will you leave behind you when you leave this world behind?

Mary Ann

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1 Song "Three Wooden Crosses" written & recorded by Randy Travis on Rise and Shine album, 2002