To Leave a Legacy

I've never been much of a Nicole Nordeman fan (which is pretty much illegal for me to say because she's from my home town and hit it big when I was in high school), but this song pretty much sums up what I'm thinking at this moment.



See, pretty much half the world has been posting over the last few weeks, and especially the last few days, in honor of Sara.  Sara struggled with chronic illness and has been home-bound for years.  Over the last few weeks, her body began shutting down.  And on Saturday, Sara went to be with Jesus.  I'd only started reading Sara's blog a little while ago, but was immediately drawn to her.  She's funny, courageous, passionate.  And she's currently free of pain, which is the best part of the whole thing. 

Seriously, though, if you wander through the world of amazing Christian bloggers, you'll see post after post after post after post dedicated to Sara and to the legacy she's left us all.  (An IRL friend of mine posted beautifully on the subject here... you should read it.)  Each of us has been challenged to Choose Joy and to live in such a way that reflects that joy, no matter the circumstance.  Her reach has been widespread, her legacy large.  I can't help but wonder if she had any idea.

I've known a few people who are legacy leavers, most notably, in a personal sense, my grandmother.  She passed away nearly nine years ago, and I still cry when I miss her.  Anytime anything big happens in our lives we wish she were here.  She was the best. I mean, literally the best.  The best grandma, friend, mother, cook, wife, homemaker, researcher.  The best.  And we still miss her.  My mom has often said she hopes that her legacy is as strong... to be that missed that many years later?  Grandma was a legacy leaver.  She didn't have the wide-reach Sara did, but to me, to my family, it was just as important.

And as I think about this women (and a few others I have known), I can't help but wonder....

Am I leaving a legacy?

Is what I'm doing with my life, my time, my work, my thoughts, my efforts, worthy?  Will it matter to someone deeply, to my family, to my friends?  Am I living well?  Do I show others how to Choose Joy, to choose life, to choose faithfulness? 

I, like Nicole Nordeman, want to leave a legacy.  I can't help but to think of anything else as I read post after post on Sara, and she reminds me of others who have gone before her.  Someday, I too, will go.

What will have I left behind?