Pondering a Legacy

I'm getting a late start this morning, but at least I'm getting a start.  It seems like these last few weeks Thursdays have been very busy days.  Today is no exception, but I do have this window of time, so....


You can find out all about Pondering with a Purpose over at its creator's site.  Brenda has the background and all the rules posted there along with this week's prompt.  Participating links are there, too, if you'd like to read what others are saying. This week's prompt is:  Legacy  What is it that you want to be remembered for? This is one of those things that I've honestly thought about a lot, because whether we want to admit it or not, none of us wants to be forgotten after we leave this life.  What I've noticed over the years, though, is that most everyone eventually fades into obscurity no matter how rich or famous and regardless of what they've done.  Of course there are historical figures that are exceptions to the rule, but the majority of them are not remembered as the grand figures they once were.  I'm guessing you could pick just about any college student and ask them about, oh....Franklin D. Roosevelt.  They will probably (I hope) be able to tell you he was a U.S. president, but I doubt if they could tell you what he was known for or what his accomplishments were.  There are already those who believe astronauts never stepped foot on the moon and that the Holocaust never happened.  The point is....we forget quickly, so it doesn't matter what I want to be remembered for. I'm not famous.  I'm not rich.  I haven't invented anything or explored uncharted territories.  I haven't freed any slaves, discovered the cure for cancer, or lead an army into battle.  So, my chances of being remembered beyond the lives of my own children are pretty slim.  I'm okay with that. What I hope and pray will be the legacy I leave behind are seeds planted, not only in my children, but in others I've come in contact with.  I hope that I have sown the seeds of love and compassion, Christian charity, integrity, and a love of knowledge.  I hope I have sown the seeds of perseverance and hope and the desire to be the best one can be.  I hope I have shown how to be strong, but also how to back down and walk away when it's the right thing to do.  I hope I have planted the seeds of faith in God.

source

When the end comes it won't matter to me what anyone thinks or remembers of me, but I hope I've made this life better for someone and that from that they have learned to pay it forward and do the same for another.  That is a legacy worth leaving.