Old Memories and New Legacies

What do you do with old memories? 
Turn them into new legacies!

I have outlived my mom by 27 days.
I don’t mean my mom died 27 days ago.
I mean she died when she was 61 years, 5 months and 16 days old.
I have eclipsed her life span.

In thinking about her,
remembering all the accomplishments she achieved
and all the people she served so well in her tenure as an educator,
one of the questions rattling around my brain is
how will I be remembered?

I know, I know,
61 is hardly considered old anymore.

However, I have more years BEHIND me than AHEAD of me.
Now more than ever, I want to make them count.

Time is whizzing by.

It seems like just yesterday that I was chasing children,
frantically trying to get places on time.
I was consumed with feeding, watering, and caring for other people.

My life doesn’t run in seconds anymore, as in …
“Get in the car this second or you’ll be late!”
“You have 10 seconds to finish getting dressed!”
“If you’re not in bed in 60 seconds, there is no tv tomorrow!”

I have the luxury of moments and in those moments
I ponder questions like …
How do I want to be remembered?

How will people remember me?

What will people say at my funeral?

You do that right?

We all want to be remembered well.
Unfortunately, in an effort to create a great legacy,
we can get into trouble by trying to do everything,
end up burned out and overwhelmed and then do nothing!

Lord have mercy!

How do you find balance and direction?

Medical professionals use the term “potentiate”.
It means to augment the activity of (something, such as a drug).
When two drugs are taken together,
one drug augments or accelerates the effectiveness of the first one.

If God’s love is what we are to potentiate, how do we do that?

By using what God puts in us to potentiate what’s in front of us.
God put the Holy Spirit in us and he will prompt us to good deeds.
He will remind us of the good gifts in us that we can use to demonstrate the love of God.

We don’t have to save the whole world, we just need to do what is in front of us right now.

You can’t stop abortion, but you can volunteer at the Pregnancy Resource Center.
You can’t save every runaway, but you can mentor one young woman.
You can’t stop every kid from being bullied, but you can step in when you see it happen.
You can’t rescue all children from poverty, but you can sponsor one child
through an organization like Compassion International.

You get the idea, don’t you? 

President Roosevelt said, “Just do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”

You can’t do everything but everyone can do something.

Don’t pretend you don’t see a need, or hear the prompts,
or believe the lie that there’s nothing you can do or it won’t make any difference.

It all makes a difference.

What did God put in you to potentiate his love to the world?

Can you teach?
Can you pray?
Can you write a check?
Can you smile?
Can you encourage?

You can’t change the world, just change the little part that’s right in front of you today.

Create a lasting legacy by potentiating the love of God where you are,
with what you have, whenever you have the opportunity.

Tell me what you do to potentiate the love of God where you are!

Lord Jesus, remind us to act like you to the people around us. At home. At work. At the store. In traffic.
Let us be your representatives to a hurting world. Help us to potentiate your love as if you were here. Amen.