How to Leave Life’s Most Important Gift
Leona D. Bergstrom, Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center
There is much talk these days about what it means to leave a legacy. Perhaps it’s because we Boomers are actually beginning to understand our own mortality. In this month alone we personally have buried one friend and heard of three more who recently received dire, perhaps terminal, diagnoses.
It makes one begin to wonder how long one has to live a life that will not just be missed, but will be remembered as significant. We call that “leaving a legacy” – a gift to the next generation that reflects the essence of our life, our values, our faith, our standards and principles, our experience, our lessons, and our deep spiritual beliefs. A legacy has been defined down through the ages as a ‘connection’ – something that will always be associated with a person’s existence.
The legacy passed on to me.
I was born in 1951, which plops me right in the camp of Baby Boomers. I was raised in a Christian family, learned all of the Bible stories via the flannelgraph board and had thirteen years worth of perfect attendance bars on my Sunday school pin. I attended countless potlucks, played the accordion for “special music” at Sunday evening service, and faithfully went to youth “Singspirations.” I was raised in an environment where Christian faith was foundational to our lives and church was central.
One of the dearest people in my life was my Grandma Thomas. We lived on a tiny piece of land on the corner of their 7.5 acre farm in Wheatridge, Colorado. A bean patch separated our houses, but my grandpa just happened to plant in such a way that there was a path right through the patch that connected us. I traveled that path regularly throughout the day so that I could get to Grandma’s house.
I still think of my Grandma, even though she has been with the Lord for over a decade. I particularly remember her during times of planting and harvest. Grandma was a farmer and harvest was the time when the benefit of her hard work was realized. I always loved the harvest! It seemed like there were unending amounts of luscious crops. As a child, I took the abundance of beans, corn, apples, strawberries and raspberries for granted. I thought it all came so easily! But as I grew up and my understanding of life expanded, I began learning the lessons Grandma wanted to teach me about the work it took to have a bountiful harvest.
Grandma taught me that seeds had to be carefully selected and purchased; that the dark, rich soil had to be tilled and prepared for planting; that seeds had to be planted at the right depth, spaced just right – and in straight rows. Then there was the irrigating, hoeing and covering of delicate plants in a hailstorm. And, of course, weeding. All this before we got to bite into a juicy cob of corn!
Grandma also taught me about the meaning of long life and to honor those who were old. I picked berries with my old (really old) aunts who wore funny button-up black shoes and sunbonnets in the fields. They had interesting faces, smelled funny and had fascinating stories to tell. Their impact on my life was profound, and I think of them often as I’ve dedicated my life to serving older adults.
What I learned most from my Grandma was to trust the God of the Harvest. My Grandma was not a preacher (not usually) or an evangelist. She was a little farmwoman from Wheatridge. But she planted seeds of faith in each of us who knew her. And she had a poem that she would recite for you every time she saw you. During the last years of her life she lived in assisted-living and extended care. Every nurse or assistant that ever cared for her heard that poem. It was an expression of her faith in a caring and sovereign God:
He doth not lead me year by year,
Nor even day by day,
But step-by-step my path unfolds,
My Lord directs my way.
Tomorrow’s plans I do not know;
I only know this minute.
But He will say, ‘This is the way,
By faith now walk ye in it.’
And I am glad that this is so;
Today’s enough to bear,
And when tomorrow comes, His grace
Will far exceed its care.
What need to worry then, or fret?
The God who gave His Son
Holds all my moments in His hands
And gives them one by one.
Author unknown.
When Grandma died there was never a doubt that she would be missed. But her legacy was indisputable. Her life consisted of planting seeds for harvest; seeds of faith that are still producing fruit in the generations living today.
And now I am an older woman and a grandma, these seeds of faith continue to sprout in my life. There are no bean patches between me and my grandsons (unless you call Interstate-5 a bean patch). Still, I must find ways to clear paths to my house and my life and share with them these seeds of faith that make up my legacy.
A Biblical Legacy
Recently our pastor spoke of the impact that older people have had in his life. He has consistently sought out coach/mentoring relationships and they have profoundly impacted his life and ministry.
He reminded us of the relationship that Elijah and Elisha enjoyed and the impact it has had through the ages. His sermon inspired me to dig deeper; to find a model for leaving a legacy of faith. Once again the Word of God proved profound and relevant.
Elijah stood as a strong and mighty man of God who stared down evil in his society and corruption among those in authority. He was mighty, he was gifted, and he was the voice of God. But one of the greatest lessons Elijah teaches us today is how to leave a legacy of power and faith.
In II Kings 2, Elijah and his ”mentoree”, Elisha, are together on what was to be Elijah’s last day of life. They had been traveling the back-roads of Israel together for over a decade, and on this day Elijah was doing “end of life” work while showing Elisha the power of God. They were at the Jordan when Elijah took off his cloak, rolled it up and stuck it into the wide river. Remarkably the Jordan divided to the right and to the left (reminiscent of the dividing of the Red Sea!) and the two crossed to the other side.
But what amazes me about this passage is what comes next. Elijah asks Elisha, “What do you want from me?” and Elisha answers, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.”
Whoa, the next generation then, and I would guess the next generation of today, wants MORE! Elisha saw what God had done through Elijah and he simply wanted the Spirit to do even more. I see that today as I look at my children and now my grandchildren. They don’t want to play church or Christian games. They want more of the Spirit. They want to fight social injustice and poverty and corruption. They want me to not just plant seeds of faith, they want me to lay down a mantle of leadership for them to pick up and carry! But they don’t just want a soggy mantle or cloak that is thrown in a river – they want one of power and conviction.
So here is the challenge: We can’t have Elishas in this generation if there is no Elijah in the first one! The “Elishas” of this generation need to see and know people who are so alive for God that it captures their hearts and imaginations – so much so that they want to twice as much!
And so Elijah passes on the baton of ministry. It is not just a transaction or a transition: It is a transformation. Elijah says, “I’m done. It’s your turn now.” It changes Elisha’s life. He watches Elijah taken up in a chariot to heaven and he screams in excitement, awe, and probably fear! But then Elisha bends over and picks up that mantle or cloak. He willingly takes on the mantle that Elijah left behind. And amazingly that mantle is full of fire! He touches the Jordan, the waters part, he crosses the Jordan into a new world of ministry that is full of God’s spirit and God’s power.
Passing it on.
The stories of Elijah and Elisha, and the story of my Grandma Thomas fill my heart and mind. Someday when I cross the Jordan, I want to look back and see the generations behind me want to pick up my mantle because it is so on fire and it is so filled with power!
How am I going to leave such a legacy?
First, by walking. I must walk with God personally and know him in the past and in the present. I must know his power daily. I must also walk justly and humbly before the Lord. (Micah 6:8)
Second, by mentoring. I must be involved in sharing the realities of my faith with the next generations. Whether it is my grandson or a young mother from my church, I must invest in the life of another sharing God’s faithfulness in the ups and downs of life.
Third, by leading. Bruce McNicol wrote in the book Ascent of a Leader that anytime we influence a life we are a leader. I need to develop my character, my integrity, honesty and devotion.
Fourth, by discipling. I need to follow the instructions of our Savior in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations. Leaving a legacy means introducing people to Christ.
Fifth, by serving. Daily I am more convicted of the importance of living out Isaiah 61 and bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn.
Sixth, by “fragrancing.” By spreading the aroma of Christ (II Corinthians 2:14) wherever I go. To me that means living grace in an ungraceful world.
Last, by fanning the flame. As I reach out to other generations I need to remind them to” fan into flame the gift of God” in each person. (II Timothy 1:6)
Outcomes
I’ve spent a lot of years in management trying to measure outcomes! But, the potential outcome of leaving a legacy of fiery faith far exceeds anything I’ve ever encountered in the business world.
I pray that my children and their children will trust the Lord in all their ways. If in some way my life steers them in that direction, then that will be the greatest outcome of my legacy.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deut. 4:9