Grandma's Flowers

In many ways, the measure of the impact of your life is the fragrance that goes on long after you're gone. In Grandma's case, it was far more than flowers. For me,they're just a symbol of a larger legacy she left - a son who loved Christ, two granddaughters who are in the Lord's service - one of whom I'm married to . . . andthree great-grandchildren who are spending their lives serving Christ.

If God has entrusted you with a family of your own, I just want to encourage you to think legacy. That kind of perspective will determine your priorities, it willshape your decisions, and it will remind you every day of the most important things you have to do.

Thinking legacy is the passion of our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 78, beginning with verse 4. The psalmist says, "We will not hide them fromtheir children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done . . . to teach their children, so thenext generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God andwould not forget His deeds . . ."

Those children of yours . . . those grandchildren . . . even those nieces or nephews - they are God's great trust to you. He's counting on you to plant in them theways of God, the words of God, a love for God. And you just don't have anything more important to do. They are the legacy of your brief journey on this planet.

And how can you sow that seed most effectively? Deuteronomy 11:19 suggests that you will "teach them to your children" by "talking about them when yousit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." The transfer of a God-relationship from one generation to the nextappears to happen through experiences more than through spiritual meetings or formal teaching. Children and young people need to see a real God doing realthings in real life situations.

So, pray with them in ways where they can see specific answers to prayer. Look for... pray for teachable moments where there are natural opportunities to teachsomething about the Lord. Dedicate each child to the Lord each new day. Take them with you to do acts of kindness in Jesus' Name. Go with them on familymissions experiences. Make Jesus a natural part of the everyday life of your family. And if there are inconsistencies between your words and your life, pleaseaddress those in Jesus' power - your legacy could be at stake. And if your efforts to date don't seem to have "taken", keep on sowing faithfully, believing thatwhat you sow, you will reap, and "the one who sows to please the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7, 8).

Grandma's gone, but her flowers are still blooming. I pray that when you and I are gone, the beauty and fragrance of what we've sown in the lives of our childrenwill still be beautifying another generation.

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Today's Daily Wisdom is written by Ron Hutchcraft, based on his popular radio broadcast,"A Word With You"."A WORD WITH YOU" daily devotionals are now available via e-mail. To subscribe send a blank email to:awordwithyou-subscribe@hutchcraft.com,or to request the "Yours for Life" booklet, fill out the form on this site:http://www.gospelcom.net/rhm/yours/yflorder.html. Ron Hutchcraft Ministries has been on-line with Gospelcom since February, 1996, providingpractical answers to real life issues. (c) 2000 Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.PO Box 400, Harrison AR 72602