The 40 Day Journey - Day 28 (Legacy)

**I am getting good at these disclaimers...I was too tired to finish putting into words what last night meant, so I put off posting this until today, the one year anniversary of my mom's home going. I still feel like this blog is a faded version of a truer version, but that is what this life is anyway, so here is another piece of my heart.

Today was a good day. Actually the day was very average, less than noteworthy.  Tonight however the heaven's sang, or maybe that was my heart.  Julia chose to be baptized.

Nothing prepares you for parenting...no amount of babysitting or research.  Children can completely break your heart and can completely inflate it beyond what you knew possible. As believers, our greatest hope and prayer is that our children would follow Jesus.  That they would love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Julia made that declaration today.

Thank you Pastor David!

Baptism is a picture of our new life in Christ.  Our old self is buried and now we have a new life. In the New Testament, we see men and women who believed and then were baptized.  We see Jesus being baptized, the One we follow. Tonight Pastor Jim shared about Paul's conversion. He believed and was baptized. He chose to be identified with a new group, a new people, the very ones he had been persecuting.

At least we are all looking forward!

It made me think of Julia and her decision. She is now identified with a new people, God's people. She has a forever family, literally.

I am feeling a heightened sense of nostalgia, as tonight is the one year anniversary of the last time I saw my mom. Tomorrow, March 22, will be one year since she left this temporary home for her eternal one.

I wrote a blog about the night before her death. In it I share a verse she had given to me on a 3x5 card when the kids were very young.  It was Isaiah 40:11

 He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; 

and carry them in His bosom; and gently lead those that are with young.

I was able to share that verse back with her the night before she died. I told her she was being carried by the Lord. Early the next morning, she was in the arms of Jesus, being ushered into God's.

My love for spaghetti began early!

Julia was asked to share a favorite verse tonight at her baptism. She chose Isaiah 46:4

I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

It felt like the perfect ending to a fairy tale, but this was real. My mom's encouragement (or blessing) to me when Julia was a baby, spoke the truth that God would carry each of us, all of our days.  God led my mom when I was young. And He was her God throughout her lifetime, until her hair was white with age.

On the one year anniversary of when I told my mom she was in Jesus' arms, our firstborn stood up in front of the church and declared her trust in the same God. My mom gave the beginning of the story, from our early years God leads us.  And Julia gave the ending, until our hair is white with age, He will carry us and be our God. My mom left a legacy of faith that is being passed down for generations.

Coffee with Mama

These last two days I have blogged about how different God's plan looks for our lives than what we imagined. His plan goes through some difficult times we would not choose. His plan sends us, on what seems like, frustrating detours - when in fact He is protecting us. And today I learned that God's plan spans time. Our time on this earth is limited, but not our legacy. Our story is part of a grander, more beautiful love story. God's Story.

Flowers for the anniversary

Is it a coincidence that Julia was baptized on the eve of the anniversary of my mom's death? No.  Do I understand all that this means? No. I know God carried my mom all of her days. I know she spoke of His faithfulness all those years. I know my mom and my daughter both have new lives today. I know my mom left a legacy of trust in God, that will span the generations.

I want to leave that same legacy, not for my sake, but for the generations to come.  That they may know God and glorify Him. Oh, that I could be part of a grander story that points to Jesus!

My mom would be so proud of Julia and the amazing young woman she has become.  And they would have gone to Starbucks to celebrate!

Song: Not for a Moment, Meredith Andrews