Lesson 10: Leaving a Legacy

Julia and Tim play a game every time they get in the car where he will say "JuJu" and she says "DaDa." They repeat this about 750 times or until we get to where we are going :) She absolutely loves it! She has started doing the game with me as well...only problem is when I say "JuJu," she still says "DaDa." Oh well, she will catch on soon enough!
Catching on is exactly what she is doing lately. Copying what we say...what sounds something makes...facial expressions...knowing to clap when she did a good job...or waving her arms in the air when she is excited. It seems like all of this just happened overnight! It is so fun to watch, but when I stop and think about what she is doing, it is also a little scary.

She is learning all of this from us! What we are teaching her is actually sticking...no sarcastic comments please :) I can't help but worry a little that she is going to pick up the wrong things from me. I know that no parent is perfect...and no child for that matter...but I just wish sometimes she would only repeat the good she sees in me. I am learning that the example I show her now, truly is going to stick with her and influence her for a lifetime.

I saw a good example of a "good example" last night. Tim, Julia, and I went to eat supper together. As we were sitting at our table, an older man and a little boy, probably no older than 5, walked in together. I wasn't eavesdropping, but it wasn't too terribly hard to hear the conversation between the little boy and the man, who turned out to be his grandpa. They talked about the restaurant, their favorite sauces, and other majorly important topics.

I couldn't help but be drawn back to memories of my grandpa...or Papa as we called him. We used to have dinners like that. He used to give me quarters every time I left his house. He always told me to never give up...and if I did, just to never tell anyone. He was a wonderful grandfather. He absolutely, without question, loved his family. When he passed away, we were cleaning out his office and found paper after paper after paper where he had written down all of our names over and over again. Who knows why? Maybe we were just on his mind that day...maybe he just liked seeing the names of all of the people who were closest to him. The important thing was that we were important to him. He left characteristics of himself scattered all throughout our family. He left a legacy that was undeniably marked by a love for Jesus and a love for his family.

I want that for Julia. I want her to be able to say, when I am gone, that I loved Jesus....that He was what mattered most to me. I pray that the things she is starting to learn now will one day be the lessons she passes on to her children.

Great lyrics from Nichole Nordeman...enjoy.

"I want to leave a legacy.
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering.
Child of mercy and grace
who blessed Your name, unapologetically.
And leave that kind of legacy."

Julia's Dedication, October 3, 2010

Papa