Day 117 "The Legacy We Leave Behind"

Today would have been my mom's 87th birthday. "Happy Birthday, Mom!" Unfortunately, she passed away 27 years ago, much too young.

In many ways I am a reflection of my parents. My mom was a great listener for me. She never made me feel like I needed to come see her or try to spend time with her, but she was always truly grateful when I did. She indulged my freedom. My dad, on the other hand, was definitely a work in progress, always striving to set himself free from his own demons, always seeking to make the big score and prove to himself that he was a somebody. I can't be too hard on him for he, too, was a product of his parents, who were products of their parents, and so on.

Life doesn't start out that way. I am sure that when my parents married, there was nothing but high hopes and excitement to light their way. Both smart, both ambitious. But along the way, the things that they were hopeful for crumbled away with the realities of life and poor choices made. One of the greatest lessons learned in life is how to make good choices and understanding one's filter system for making those choices. It was interesting to me how many of us experienced dysfunctional lives growing up, a fact that comes into the light when stories are shared at high school reunions years later. "I never realized you were going through that." "Wow, I never saw that in your family." "I'm so sorry that those things happened to you."

We can easily see the physical scars left behind by our physical injuries. But it is hard to see the mental and emotional scars. I realize many people have had an awesome legacy of love and guidance while they grew up. My wife, Robyn, was one of them. But as for my brother and I, we have battled much of our lives to overcome the scarring memories left behind by our parents who were so engrossed in their own troubles and tragedies that it left little time left over for us. For much of life, we were left to our own devices to make our own choices.

This picture of my parents was taken within a year of my mom's passing. Through lots of trials, hardships, a divorce and a remarriage to each other, I think my parents over the years found their own way in accepting each other just as they were and found peace in their lives.

As for my brother and I, we, too, have come to a certain point of making peace within our lives. My brother, Scott, seeks out life like a Renaissance Man, seeking to be a man of music, reading, and socially interacting with others. I, on the other hand, have been a discoverer of God's grace and love

and have chosen to let Jesus Christ be may savior and Lord. Scott still deals with his ups and downs in life, mostly due to his manic depression. As for me, I feel the easing of the bonds of anxiety and loneliness that have plagued much of my life, and in their places I have come to experience a sweet presence of living in the moment guided by God's grace and love.

I am deeply indebted to the legacy that Christ left behind for me when he died on the cross to make me holy and whole, and for showing me how to walk on the pathway of love. Like the Apostle Paul, I, too, feel that my citizenship is in heaven and that I walk through this life somewhat like a stranger in a foreign land. Unburdened by the day to day complexities of this life, I embrace the temporariness of this life through a faith that looks ahead to the things which are eternal. But in the meantime, while I continue my journey here as a sojourner, I seek to live life in the present moment guided by my two constant companions: grace and love.

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of

sins." Colossians 1:13

"Perfect love casts out all fear." 1 John 4:18

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

"But our citizenship is in heaven." Philippians 3:20

***********************************************************************

May you, too, find your way through this world and discover

who you were meant to be.

In his love, see you, again, tomorrow...

"Carpe Momentum in Love" (Seize the moment in love)