One recent morning I came upon these words of
King Solomon which reference the things he has toiled for and what happens to
them when he dies: “. . . I leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows
whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over
all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the
sun. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19).
Not exactly inspirational. I’ve often wondered if Solomon might have been a bit down when he wrote those first two chapters in Ecclesiastes. Later that morning, while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, I picked up a magazine. Photos of a beautifully appointed coastal home graced several pages. The homeowner wanting to abandon the neutral palette which is so popular these days had asked the designer to drench her home in color. The designer did just that, and the result was breathtaking. But a sad note was included. The homeowner died just after the photos were taken.
Solomon is right. I’ve watched through the
years how one generation leaves the fruit of a lifetime of work in property or
funds to the next and sometimes, within a short amount of time, it is gone. And
I wonder if that beautiful home I read about so filled with the personality of
the owner was returned to a neutral palette in order to be sold.
Then, as I pondered those back-to-back messages, I ran
into a woman who had lost her husband in recent years and was wondering whether
to write their love story for her children and grandchildren. It had been
something long on her heart to do, but as so many of us have experienced, she
was having trouble getting started. I love to motivate folks in their writing,
and I strongly encouraged her to begin that process. I told her about my
earlier messages and how if we’re going to leave a legacy, it better be
something that can’t be taken out of a bank or painted over. Because those
things are here today and gone tomorrow. But our witness and our testimony go
on in the lives of all those with whom we share. And getting that witness down
on paper or in a digital format where it can be passed along is important.
That is one of the reasons I do what I do.
I know the testimony of others has meant so much in my life and continues to
encourage me even though some of those folks have passed on. I’ve shared here
before about my aunt Nell who learned how to use a computer and obtained her
GED at the age of eighty. She had long wanted to do that after life
circumstances stood in the way of her getting her degree. A strong believer, she
went on to write stories from her life which have been shared with family.
I cannot tell you how precious those words are to me and how they continue to
inspire me. I hope to do the same for someone else, if even in a small way.
There
is power in how God has written the stories of our lives. The apostle John
wrote in Revelation “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by
the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11). When we declare what God has done
for us, we gain victory over the enemy’s ploys.
If the Lord has put something in your heart
to do that would leave a witness for those coming after you, please do it. The
Lord once said to me when I was wavering, “Just start.” So just start whatever
it is that is pressing in on you. You may not think you have what it takes, but
if you start, the Lord will give you what you need as you go. As I told the
woman the other day. You write and more comes.
So let me know if you decide to press ahead.
I’d love to hear how you’re doing.