100 years

36,500 days

876,000 hours

52,560,000 minutes

3.6 BILLION Heartbeats

Time...it’s a funny thing isn’t it? Our greatest asset yet often held so loosely that it slips away without thought or controlled so tightly that its true ability to impact is managed away in a grind of never ending tasks.

Over the river and through the woods took on a different meaning this year. It had probably been 35 years since we (parents and sisters) packed up a car headed to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. In fact, her home had been gently sorted, packed and sold about 10 years prior after marrying Mr. Lovette at the tender age of 89, a blushing bride with a new lease on life.

Going to visit my grandmother this year meant traveling to my own childhood home for the holidays, located a few miles from room 202 in Superior Health Care. Grans corner of the world has botanicals hung on the light green walls and “ precious little vases” holding silk flowers lining the window sill under the view of the courtyard where “ the old people” go. ( All quotations her words not mine) This particular description of her fellow residents is quite ironic since we gathered specifically to celebrate her 100th birthday.

1917

Man, 100 YEARS of life!

We mingled and enjoyed Coca – Cola Cake cupcakes, ice cream and a traditional birthday cake with pink roses of course. Nothing absent of floral embellishment would ever do for Gran; flower arrangements, floral napkins and plate and cups, floral wrapping paper. You get the drift.

We have a small family. 21 total. All present; two children, four grandchildren, all the in laws, and eight great grandchildren ranging in age from 3-20, every decade present, 3 – 83, poised to honor Gran, our birthday girl.

I looked around.

Little Miles, three years old, so eager to show Gran pictures of himself displayed in a book his mama had designed. Little girls lined up to show Gran their beautifully painted nails. ( Gran has always admired and insisted on a nicely appointed manicures.) My mom and Uncle Ryan showing their own children and grandchildren pictures of their family dating back a century, filling in the gaps of family history through story.

And then it was time!

Time to blow out the candles. One hundred singles may have exceeded Superior Health Care’s fire code, not to mention time limit for room rental as the huffing and buffing unfolded, so the numbers 1 0 0 were intentionally set between the abundance of flowers. The little ones crowded around after being prepped to blow hard, offering a bit of extra oxygen to the effort, on the count of three. They did, with great joy.

I watched.

I watched Gran look around, look around the room at the glimpses of her life standing before her embodied in the form of family. A background of colorful posters displaying photos of our heritage, relatives long gone from this life but yet the shaping agents of hers. They, the ones who had shaped the ones who have shaped me and those I am shaping, were present in the room and remembered through black and white images of moments and memories.

Legacy.

She said nothing. The birthday song filling the small space. All attention on Gran ( just the way she likes it). Quietly raising the floral cocktail napkin she dabbed the corners of her eyes catching the tears before they fell.

As I watched her I wondered what in the world she must have been thinking, her mind now sometimes wandering between memories and present moments, her words to me from the day before " If I don’t hurry up Oak Grove may close” echoing in my head yet bringing a smirk to my face. (Oak Grove is the local cemetery) She is tired. She is ready.

But, today we were here to celebrate life.

As the little’s ones blew and begged for ice cream it occurred to me…….soon, we would all be left with only memories. And, those memories, the ones shared and the ones specific to individual relationships, would be Gran’s legacy. I have been teaching and preaching that we all “leave a legacy every minute of every day" for years. However, it had never been so clear to me as in this moment. We ALL leave a legacy whether we intentionally build one or not. You see, an inheritance is something you receive, but, a legacy? A legacy is something that you leave. A legacy is built over a lifetime.

I LOVE words. I LOVE to study words. My second favorite book, surpassed only by the Holy Word of God, is Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary. I love story and origin and meaning all of which are made known through words. So here’s an interesting thought. The word legacy does not actually mean to leave. Not at all. Legacy comes from the Latin root lego which means to send or sent. So, while in some regard, it is true that we “leave a legacy”, in order to fully grasp the significance of legacy one would have to consider that what we “leave” is the exact same thing that we “launch”.

We send forward what we leave behind.

We are on a long journey home. For most of us that journey will not total 100 years. Our home is Heaven. We all began in the heart of our Creator, one who didn’t need us but wanted us. You and me and every individual we encounter. I suppose the intentional legacy we have been sent to leave is an invitation to a great gathering back home, around a banquet table. (I bet there are a lot of flowers there too) We were sent to remind others they were Created by their Heavenly Father, cherished, loved, known, and wanted by Him. 100 years is a mere blink when we consider eternity and who we will spend it with.

What am I doing with my time?

Who am I impacting?

What am I leaving?

Who am I sending?

Every single answer dependent on who I am following.

I teach high school students and assign upperclassmen the task of writing their eulogy, an exercise not always embraced and often mocked by this age group (you can imagine) …..until they do it. When they stop for a moment to consider what they want and hope people will say when they are gone life seems to get their attention.

“Begin with the end in mind” is always a great strategy when one takes on a project or task. How much more so then when you choose to live your life? Gran's end is near. Mine might be too? There is only ONE who knows.

What is my end?

What race am I running?

What is the legacy I will leave?

I turned 50 this fall but on my 40th I actually pondered these questions. I came up with a sort of eulogy myself. Here is how it goes:

SHE FOLLOWED.

That’s it.

I AM my Heavenly Father’s legacy. ( So are you! ) All He asks is that I follow the person of Jesus and His plan for my life. And, that I invite others to do the same, helping them as they go.

Our legacies are left through the words that will be spoken when we are gone. Descriptions, observations, perspectives, stories.....

I’m going home.

My “end in mind” is eternity with my God.

When I leave I pray my legacy is marked with the words SHE FOLLOWED.

And, upon arrival?

I pray that when I meet my Maker, in all of His glory, the words “well done good and faithful servant“ are summed up with a gentle smile, wink and a nod… “ You, Suzanne, followed. Welcome home.” 

#Legacy #Intentional