By Gina Caswell Kelly
What are you leaving to your family? I don’t mean money or land, or any other type of material inheritance. I mean what legacy are you leaving to your kids? The older I get, the more I think about what I have shown my kids with my life. Time is growing shorter with each passing day. I spend lots of time looking back at where I have messed up, and maybe what I did right. I am grateful, that unlike social media, God shows us grace and forgiveness with each new day.
The thing about inheritance is that it doesn’t always last. I can work very hard and amass a great fortune, and my kids could inherit that. I could work hard and have a great family business. My kids could inherit that. But things like faith and courage, integrity, intentional living, those things have to be modeled daily to be passed down. We need to be living those things out in front of our families every single day.
When your children se you trusting God when trials come your way, you are adding to their faith legacy. When they see you going through hard times, and hear you say, “God will provide a way,” that is another addition to their faith legacy account. When you tell them stories of the faithfulness of God in your own life, theres another addition to their account.
You see, living a life of service to God in front of them means so much more than a financial inheritance. The faith legacy we live has the potential to last generation after generation. Who knows? All that money you worked so hard for? Your grandkids might spend it all in a week! But the inheritance of a life lived for God will show up in generations to come.
It is not too late to start working on this inheritance. Take time today to spend time in God’s Word in front of your family. If this is not something you are used to doing, it may seem awkward, but be intentional about it. Tell them why you are doing it. Tell them how important it is to you. Maybe even apologize for not living it out in front of them before now. But do it!
Like I said, as I get older, I think more and more about the legacy I want to leave. I am nearly 71! My time is getting closer, and that is okay with me because I know where I am going when I am done here on earth. But with any luck at all, I will never be done here because my legacy will live on and on even after I am physically gone.
How about you? What are you leaving your kids and your grandkids? Leave behind the important stuff. Leave behind a life spent serving God. It will make a difference!
