Hello, lovely readers!
I’m curious. Who’s your favorite superhero?
Personally, I’m a big fan of Batman (Michael Keaton or Christian Bale versions, thankyouverymuch). I love that Batman is a regular guy with really, really cool technology. I’m nerdy like that.
If I could have a superpower? I think I’d have to pick time travel. Maybe Dr. Strange will loan me the Time Stone (except I just remembered he doesn’t have it anymore. There goes that plan).
Which probably explains why I spent the better part of last week doing a deep dive into genealogical research. I spent hours chasing down rabbit trails and finding new records that led to more rabbit trails. Finding the stories of people who are a part of my history that I’ve never met or even heard of. I know I’ll never know their whole story, but it’s sure fun to try. After all, their story is part of my story.
Speaking of stories, I love a good origin story. They always remind me of what the hero had to overcome, what gives the hero purpose, and what is being redeemed through the superhero’s work. The origin stories of superheroes remind us to look back to remember our why, but also to look ahead to what the future holds.
I’ve been thinking about legacy a lot lately. One of the records I found in my ancestry research was old probate records. You know, last will and testament and all that. In fact, it’s actually the first definition of the word, according to Google. Legacy: an amount of money or property left to someone in a will. The second definition is the one I tend to think of when I think of a person’s legacy: a thing handed down by a predecessor.
Legacy:
A thing handed down by a predecessor.
I sometimes feel as if we treat both of these ideas in an after the fact way. We live how we live and those who are left get what is left. But when it comes to leaving a legacy, there is something tangibly intentional about what we leave and who we leave it for. The way I live this life, the stories I tell, the difficult things I overcome, this is the tapestry of my legacy is woven a little more each day. This is what I call Legacy Making.
Titus 2: 3-5 teaches us that older women should pass on their knowledge to younger women. And while Paul highlights areas such as loving our families well and homemaking, I don’t think that the idea of handing down knowledge is limited to recipe cards and housekeeping tips. We are also called to pass on wisdom that we have learned, either through experience or from those who came before us.
It’s the redemptive quality of looking ahead to the future and overcoming hindrances from our past that keeps me passionate about Legacy Making.
Rebecca Meek
I want my children to know who they are, where they come from, and who they are called to be. I want them to have more than knowledge about these things; I want them to have the tools they need to be who God has called them to be. This is why I do this work of curating rhythms, routines, and traditions: to leave a legacy that matters to future generations. It’s the redemptive quality of looking ahead to the future and overcoming hindrances from our past that keeps me passionate about Legacy Making.
Like the superhero origin stories, it’s important to know where we come from, to recognize our strengths and weaknesses, and to look toward our future with purpose. Legacy Making means that I live and order my life now in such a way that when we get to the end, the legacy is already in place. That I’ve lived by example and taken the time to teach my family and those around me how to carry on the stories, the memories, the legacy of family.
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Rebecca Meek 