Leaving a Legacy
Just last night at the last Grief Support for the spring season, our vocalist sang Legacy, a Nicole Nordeman song. The chorus goes:
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
To make a mark on things
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed Your name unaologetically
And leave that kind of legacy
Some of my parents in the child loss group struggled with their own legacy and the legacy of their beloved children no longer here. It is so hard to wrestle with but what I know really impacted me was thinking of the legacy my sister, Lin, has left.
July 2nd is the 11th anniversary of Lin's death. She was only 47 years old, her life cut short by a dumb accident. The words of this song speak about her. She left her mark. She never shrank back to talking to anyone about Jesus. She and her daughter Mandy were quite a duo while shopping when someone would ask about Mandy's rare condition. Somehow Lin always got around to talk about their faith and how God had a plan. She never saw tragedy; she saw opportunity.
And boy, talk about gifted. Besides, her evangelism, she was a rare artist. One of her beautiful paintings is shown here. She painted the walls at Willow for the Promiseland ministry; she created beauty out of almost nothing. And the gift of mercy was her trademark. She just didn't see the bad. She could point out what was right and pure in a situation. So tonight when Pete and Karen and Lin's son Phil and I sat outside a restaurant on this beautiful evening, we thought of her and thanked Him for the legacy of her.
In the crazy irony of life, July 2nd is also Chris and Christa's wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, dear ones, far away in Singapore, though I doubt you'll see this. I know you are not blogland fans...Happy anniversary anyway. You are leaving a legacy, too.
posted by Barb K @ 10:15 PM
3 Comments:
Your sister must have been a remarkable woman. It sounds like she not only accomplished a lot during her much too short time on earth but she also is inspiring people to this day. Do you feel comfortable in revealing what the "dumb accident" was?
Only because it may remind others regarding pool safety, I will share this here. Lin had just gotten out of their swimming pool and went to unplug the filter. She was still soaking wet and the plug was not grounded properly. Lin received the full jolt of electricity and was killed by it.Very, very sad time for our family. So unnecessary. In fact they had the new plug bought, just had not yet installed it. :(
I am so very sorry for your horrible loss. I agree with you that in relaying this story you may very possibly save lives, not just for people with pools, but for everyone who is near water and electricity (bathrooms, kitchens, etc.) You and your family are very strong people to have survived so much heartache and yet keep the faith.
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