I love makeup! As a little girl I loved putting on makeup. I don’t remember playing dress-up a whole lot, but I remember taking my mom’s lipstick and eye shadow, sitting in front of the mirror for hours and “making up” my face.
Some things never change….this past weekend instead of “football,” Collins and I did something we love to do…we found our way to Nordstrom’s. We picked a makeup artist and asked her to redo our makeup. I love to watch so I pulled up a chair and watched the expert work her magic on Collins. There was no special occasion to prepare for. It is just one of the many things I have discovered creates special mother/daughter moments, not to mention an excuse to buy new lip color. If you grew up around me, and especially if you spent time in our house at all with Collins…I did what my mother taught me. I encouraged girls to do their “lips!” I loved it when Collins would have her friends over to get ready for a dance. We pulled out every lip color in our house to find the perfect shade.
Up until my mother could barely utter words, if I came in to see her and didn’t have on lip color…she would whisper, “You look better when you are wearing color!” I knew what she meant…I needed to put on lipstick. Even today I carry around my mother’s favorite lipstick….in my purse. It is a way I carry her with me. Her favorite color was “Ripe Raspberry!” Funny how today with my own daughter…I have passed on the things my mother deemed important.
Whether we would like to admit it or not…we influence people, especially our children. My mother taught me the importance of many things. As I sat and missed her on Saturday, I thought about other more important things she taught me. One of the many things I learned from watching her was having a heart for the needy, especially children. She didn’t just talk about it…nor just write a check and move on…she got personally involved in helping the needy.
As a young girl, my sister and I rode with her to pick up children who didn’t have the advantages we had. She would take them to the doctor to get vaccinations or take them when they were sick. She did grocery shopping and bought clothes and delivered them. She never talked about it to anyone as far as I know….she just did it. It was a part of her DMO…Daily Method of Operation. Just like putting on her “lipstick” daily…..she cared for the needy.
At 52, and an empty nest, and more time to dive into God’s Word…I can reflect and see how things are passed along from generation to generation in the Bible and in our daily lives today…the good and the not so good. On my mom’s side of the family, she had a grandmother, my great grandmother, whose name was Roxie Ann Collins. Roxie is most remembered for her love for the Lord. A devout pastor’s wife…who too had a love for children and the poor and needy.
Today her legacy is lived on through a children’s home named Collins Children’s Home, http://www.collinschildrenshome.org, which was started by her grandson and his wife, Joe and Anne Rackley, my mother’s cousin. The mission statement is as follows: “Collins Children’s Home and Family Ministries is a Christian based organization that provides care to needy children and families through residential home care, counseling, and family outreach.”
The point I am making first and foremost to myself and then to you, the reader, is the importance of “legacy.” Legacy is defined as anything handed down from the past as from an ancestor or predecessor.
It has only been 5 months since we buried my mom, but the way I want to honor all the “good” that she lived is to pass it on. I realize it cannot die with me. So, I need to get busy. We are never promised tomorrow. Everyone reading this post will leave a legacy.
What do you want your legacy to be?
It won’t be what you said….It will be what you did!
The greatest legacy of all is the Life of Jesus…just to begin to try and mimic His actions…would be a great legacy. My mother understood that if people are hungry, it is hard for them to hear and understand that Jesus loves them. She well understood and lived…feeding a hungry stomach and clothing a cold child…was a way to be like Jesus.
Let me use God’s Word to explain. It says it best in Matthew 25 starting in verse 34 and ending in verse 40. It is a rather long passage but worth reading and meditating on today. These are the words of the King at the final judgment.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Seek the Lord for direction on what your legacy should be. Who does He want you to influence? Our ultimate goal should be to glorify God and point others to Him through our actions.
Let’s Get Busy!