LEGACY

A good friend of mine, Scott Bailey, has these two simple words in his email signature, Honor & Legacy.  In my last post, HONOR, I mentioned that beginning your thoughts with honor in mind will often dictate your future actions.  I also believe that “thinking” LEGACY will also create a similar effect. 

When I think about the legacy that I want to leave… with my child, in my work, at my church, etc., I tend to give my best at the task in hand.  By taking a selfless attitude and thinking about the future outcome, I put things into an eternal perspective.  Stephen R. Covey coined the phrase “Beginning with the End in Mind” (read Habit 2 in the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.)  I do my best to live by this principle and it has always served me well.

As a parent, I often think about my son and the legacy I want to leave for him.  I was recently challenged to think about leaving a legacy for his children … and their children.  The longer perspective we take dictates the more careful of a choice we need to make.  As a Christian man, I will teach “legacy-living” to my son.  I can only pray that he receives this wisdom, and passes it on to his children.  If I do this, then my legacy will live on.

Keep in mind that your legacy can take several forms: love, patience, generosity, etc.  My father has been gone for 9 years now.  One legacy he left for me was a strong work ethic.  By teaching this at an early age, he instilled this in me and it has paid dividends for me in my work career.  This is a legacy that I plan to teach to my son as well, among many others.

With today being Christmas Eve, my wife and I are teaching our 3 year old son about the “reason for the season.”  She spent this morning with him baking Jesus a birthday cake and this evening we will read him a book about the miracle of his birth.  We are thankful for the legacy that our Heavenly Father left for us and will pass this message on to our son.

I hope this post will get you thinking about legacy and being intentional with your future actions.  May your CHRISTmas be filled with God’s favor and great times with family!

Sincerely,

John R. Vakidis