This year I had the honor of sharing the message on Mother’s Day at our church. I thought I would share with you on my blog as well. While I was researching I also came across this list of things that “My mother taught me”. As I read through them, I could almost hear my own mom saying them. Then I read a second time and realized that I have said some of the same things to my own girls. Here it is:
Things My Mother Taught Me...
My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE
"If you’re going kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!"
My mother taught me the power of Prayer
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me LOGIC
"Because I said so, that’s why."
My mother taught me HOW TO MEET A CHALLENGE
“Answer me when I talk to you! Don’t talk back to me!”
My mother taught me to think ahead.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep laughing and I’ll give you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM
"Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
"Stop acting like your father!"
My mother taught me about ENVY
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have a wonderful mother like you do!"
My mother taught me about JUSTICE
“One day you’ll have kids and I hope they turn out just like you!”
Mother’s teach us a lot of important things but it also important to learn to laugh.
Just as I recall saying these things to my own children, one day they will sit around and say “Remember when mom used to say……..” Our legacy is what we leave behind. What people will say about us when we are gone. It is our story. We are writing our own story as we live every day. Every decision we make, everything we do , becomes part of our story. One day when we are gone, people will sit around and share stories about us, the remember when stories, what will your story be?
We have the power to write that story while we are still here on earth. Every day we are faced with problems, circumstances that we can’t control, just life. How we respond to those situations is what people will talk about when you’re gone.
We are not perfect by any means, we have made mistakes and we will make more mistakes. But how we react to those time will be determine the story that people tells about us. We can’t go back and change what our story has been up till now but we determine what the rest of the story will be.
We are passing down to our children and their children our legacy. That is what God intended for us to do. We tell our stories to our children and grandchildren, of how we have overcome, how God has provided for us, how He made a way for us when it seemed impossible. We keep telling these stories and one day our children will be up here telling the stories. That is our legacy. We are writing our own stories.
Lesson Learned: What is your story? You can do have input on what people will say about you when you are gone. You determine that story now while you’re alive. So, think about it with every choice you make…. What is your story?
