Recently I drove past a new retirement community called Legacy Living. I found myself pondering: If a legacy is something of value you leave behind for the next generation, how are the residents who live there enhancing their legacy? Perhaps it’s just a marketing ploy to attract renters, but the thought stayed with me.

This past week, I was blessed to spend five beautiful days with my four children, their spouses, and my eight grandchildren, and to celebrate the upcoming arrival of three more grandbabies due by December. I have found that one of my favorite things about being a grandparent is observing the traits and similarities in my grandchildren that remind me of my husband, myself, or my kids. The whole wonder of it captivates me, and Proverbs 17:6 came to mind: “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” With a short mental leap, my earlier pondering about “legacy living” resurfaced. 

I found myself in the early morning watching the sunlight come up over the lake, coffee cup in hand, thanking the Lord for the little piece of me that lives forever in my children and grandchildren. I beheld each little face in my mind, and my heart was overflowing with love. I felt the Lord whisper, “That is how I feel when I look at you and every other person who has lived and will live. I see a little piece of me in all of you, and there is nothing I would not do to spend eternity with you if you let me.”

I left that prayer time deeply moved and deeply grateful. The legacy I am leaving behind is not made of bricks and mortar with my name on it. My legacy is comprised of eternal souls who possess a little piece of me and a little piece of Jesus and an entire Kingdom they will call theirs forever. You too are heirs of the Kingdom, and your eternal legacy is far more valuable than anything on this earth, for “eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has ready for those who love him.”

Yours in the Heart of Jesus,

Donna