Legacy

I am being touched, moved by a legacy.

I did not know Christina well. She was a passing hello and exchange of the typical how are you and what's new in the hallways of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and the friendly smile that greeted us with welcome and coffee as we walked into the doors of First Baptist Church San Francisco on Sunday mornings. I admired her unique style and often remember loving a dress she was wearing or an accessory choice. But this week as she passed from earth into eternity with our Savior I find myself deeply impacted by her legacy.

My news feed is bombarded with pictures and posts her close friends and family are sharing that celebrate her life. It is unquestionable that her life touched many and that her legacy is one that reflects the character of Christ. Selflessness, generosity, joy, and gentleness are continually mentioned or described (along with adventure and coffee:)). If you don't know Christina and you want to see what I'm talking about please read Sarah's memories.

This summer the Lord has been calling me to examine my life and how I'm making an impact. I have been awakened to my faults in relationship. Relationship with Him and with others. The biggest revelation has come in the last few weeks as I began reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp which, coupled with our current sermon series at FBCSF on Colossians, led me to Luke and the life of Jesus (trust me, it led me there :)). 

Discontentment. That's where I've been living. And slowly He's opening my eyes to where He is in every day. And I'm rejoicing in thanksgiving. And I'm eager for transformation and desperately longing for joy and contentment in any circumstance, any where. My eyes are searching for Him in my day to day and finding Him every where. 

And I see Him in Christina's legacy.

And I want desperately, when all that's left of me are memories, for my legacy to be Him.

So today I am thankful for Christina and her legacy. I am thankful that God uses the lives of people who are passing acquaintances on this earth to reveal to us more of Him. Thankful that the lives of other believers challenge the way I'm living the faith. 

I know that Christina's legacy is touching thousands and many are strangers; people who never knew her in this life but who have now been touched by the life she lived. And those people are giving back to her family and friends and legacy through the creativity and thoughtfulness of Sarah and others who love her (see Sarah's blog again for how you can too :)). I hope that by writing this blog and sharing how the Lord is using Christina's legacy to teach me I can pass her legacy on to many others who will see Jesus in the life she lived. 

I'm challenged to live my life now in a way that will leave a legacy of Him. To focus on Him and the eternal rather than what is earthly and temporary. To be content and full of joy because of the thanksgiving I give to Him for His grace. I'll leave you with this scripture which has been playing itself over and over in my mind as I consider legacy:

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." ~ 2 Corinthians 4.16-18