THE PASTORAL COMPANION FOR AGING CHRISTIANS-VOLUME 5

WHAT WILL REMAIN AFTER I AM GONE?
"Legacy is not merely what people say about you after you die. Legacy is what you are placing into people while you are still alive."
There comes a season in life when the questions begin to change.
When we are young, we often ask:
What am I going to do with my life?
Later we ask:
What have I accomplished?
But somewhere along the journey, another question begins quietly knocking at the door of the heart:
What will remain after I am gone?
That is not a morbid question.
It is a mature question.
It is the question of legacy.
And every aging Christian should eventually wrestle with it.
Not because death is necessarily near.
Not because life is over.
But because life has taught us something worth leaving behind.
YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LEAVE
Some seniors immediately think:
"I don't have much to leave."
Perhaps there is no large estate.
No famous name.
No corporation.
No building bearing your name.
No great financial inheritance.
But legacy is much larger than money.
You can leave:
faith.
wisdom.
character.
memories.
stories.
prayers.
lessons.
values.
encouragement.
testimonies.
traditions.
warnings.
books.
letters.
sermons.
teachings.
recordings.
acts of kindness.
examples of perseverance.
And perhaps most importantly, people whom you have helped become stronger because you lived.
That is legacy.