Photo by Philip Graves on Unsplash
June 2022 Editor's Note: A Lasting Legacy
June 2022
by stephanie toews, executive editor
leg·a·cy: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past
Do you ever think about your life’s story? I don’t mean social media stories; everyone knows those are merely highlight reels. I’m referring to the legacy you’re working to leave behind to your family, children, friends, and the world (long after moving on to a new media platform).
With Father’s Day on the horizon, I think about leaving a lasting legacy for the coming generations. My father’s legacy will be prayer warrior, hard worker, strong faith in God, steadfastness, creativity, and reliability, among many other things. His father (my grandfather) passed on the legacy of hard worker, kindness, skilled carpenter, and incredible attitude and outlook. These characteristics are woven into my being and manifested in various ways through me.
While it’s sometimes hard to think of the bigger picture amid daily life, the decisions and disciplines that we make now are what will be impressed on others later. Here are five important things worth striving for.
- Loving Unconditionally- This kind of love doesn’t have to be earned to be given. Not only towards those who are easy to love but, more difficultly, loving the hardest of people who have nothing to give us in return.
- Joy Amid Trials- This is certainly not easy and requires anchoring somewhere other than our world. It’s a deep-rooted faith in the bigger picture that things will be okay despite the circumstances, and there’s always something worth rejoicing over.
- Generosity- Living a life with hands wide open. Quick to offer forgiveness, slow to become angry, and not holding back from those in need. Whether time, talents, or treasure, we all have something to give.
- Encouraging and Inspiring Others- We each have a different sphere of influence, and within it, we can work hard to be an encouragement to others. Calling out their talents, walking with them through failures and heartbreaking moments, and celebrating their successes as our own.
- Working Hard- Whatever our hands find to do, we can work at it with all that we are. Whether a stay-at-home parent shaping mini mountain-movers and scrubbing toilets, a corporate executive with a Very Important Title, or a volunteer filling needs, may our lives always be marked by integrity and steadfastness.
At the end of our earthly days, we can’t take a thing with us, and, contrary to popular belief, our most significant investment isn’t in the stock market or real estate. It’s how we use the 24 hours we have each day to change the world.
Love,
Stephanie
Originally printed in the June 2022 issue of Simply Local Magazine
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