What do YOU want to be remembered for?

If you left today, if you moved away, or passed away, how would we remember you? How would your family, your friends, your co-workers, the people nearest to you, how would they remember your life?

Its a strange question and it requires some deep thought, but if we take the time to reflect on this I think that it has the ability to inspire great change. Life can be so overwhelming with its many stresses and deadlines. We are constantly bombarded with struggles and difficulties it is easy to be overtaken and simply let life happen to us. Instead of taking charge and living with purpose, we just react to the things that happen, striving to do the best we can. Usually we end up regretting some of our irrational decisions because we lacked the strength and patience to act with integrity.

So how would we benefit from thinking about the way people would remember us? The benefit comes when we realize that we actually want people to be able to look upon our lives and derive hope, encouragement, and inspiration that would benefit their own lives. Then we can create a vision for our lives that can shape us and navigate us through difficult times.

Example? Okay so I have a vision to be a woman of patience and grace. Well thats a sweet idea, but what about when I am working with someone who is stubborn, selfish, and outwardly rude? If I were simply reacting to my circumstances I would be likely to shut down, rebel, outwit the person to cut them with my words, or do whatever I can do discredit their reputation. But with the vision I have to be patient and gracious, inspired by the Holy Spirit, I can extend love to this difficult person. Despite my own feelings and all of the emotional turmoil, I maintain my vision to be remembered as a woman of God and I pray for my coworker. I treat them to gifts. I speak highly of them in the presence of others. I seek to understand them and assume the best of them. Why? Because my commitment to my vision of Godliness means more than my emotions.

So what is your vision? What is your life about? Are you living the life you want to live? Do you have direction or are you simply reacting? I pray God blesses you as you ponder this stuff. I believe in you.

1 John 2:15-17 (New Living Translation)

Do Not Love This World

 ¹⁵ Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ¹⁶ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. ¹⁷ And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.