Legacy II

My son is in a play at school. It's Arthur Miller's All My Sons and it takes place just post World War II. Since my wife and (grudgingly) I are working with concessions, my wife decided to decorate one of the tables with memorabilia. "I have a bunch of pictures of my uncles in WWII. Then there are several of my great-uncle and my grandfather during WWI. They are really cool pictures. As I looked at them, I recalled riding on the tractor with my great uncle Seldon as we baled hay. I saw my Uncle Les whom I'm named after. And even my son asked, "Is this Uncle Russell? Uncle Pud?" Pud was the name we affectionately called him later. There was my grandfather as a young buck ready to take on the world. I mostly remember two things about him. First, him dying of lung cancer and black lung disease (he was a coal miner). But second, was in church at St. Joe, Ohio when we prayed. You see, he would kneel every time a prayer was said. Not only him, but every man in the building.
What a wonderful legacy these people have left for me. It made me think of Aunt Maud who taught our Bible class at Bearwallow when I was just a little boy. My Aunt Evelyn gave me my first job at C & E Super Valu in Athens, Ohio. She was an elder's wife and always treated everyone with great integrity. She was so trusting to let a young 16 year old take her car home in the evenings and to let me even live with them for a summer. She still writes and asks when I'm coming back to a reunion. She understands the value and worth of family.
Now it's my turn....and yours. What will your kids remember about you? Will they remember a servant's heart and a soul turned towards the Lord?
So many times I think of situations when I didn't act the way I should. When something was way more important to me than it should have been. Or I was stubborn and obstinate over frivolous things. Is that what my kids will remember? Is that how my friends will remember me? I hope not. When I was in graduate school, one of my professors had us do a little exercise that brought all of this home to me. He had us write our own epitaph. Do that some time and see that it's not as easy as you think.
So here's to my the legacy left to me by godly parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. I have been so blessed to be in the family I'm in. But if you haven't been so blessed, why don't you break the cycle and begin being a blessing to your kids. Be the kind of person that they remember with great fondness and gratitude for your gentle spirit and godly attitude. Leave them something to remember you by. I hope your day is filled with wonderful blessings. JW