Our legacy

I tend to travel down memory lane quite often. Although I realize, like Thomas Wolfe, one can never go home again, I do enjoy the conversations and events of my younger days. Ye
sterday remains full of cherished moments when my parents took care of the hardships that came our way. I like thinking about the camping and fishing trips, the old red beach house, and that silver Christmas tree of my childhood.
However, my memories, like everyone’s, are also filled with heartache, loss, illness, and the insecurities brought on by peer pressure. Every coin has two sides, and the struggles of growing up represent the “heads or tails” of that coin. This perspective can vary from person to person. While I do not dismiss the hardships I’ve faced, as they have taught me valuable lessons, I choose to focus on the positive happenings of life.
I recall one bittersweet moment between my Dad and me that continues to strengthen my walk of faith to this day. Six months before my giving birth to twins, my oldest brother died of cancer. As Dad sat looking at the new generation before him, I could see the joy of the moment and the pain of loss. Then this giant of a man, with tears in his eyes, apologized, not for any wrongdoing, but for failing to provide. He apologized for not providing a better house and name-brand clothing.
At that moment, nothing else mattered; I thanked him for the good memories, the home, not the house, the covering, not the brand, and the courage and strength it took to hold a family together. Looking at my new family, I prayed to be a little more like Dad. I thanked him for the hope he instilled in us. I thanked him for his legacy of love and the faith that we needed to navigate this world.
The Apostle Paul writes that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses that have gone on before us. This cloud is not made of spectators but of faithful men and women who held to God’s truth – Abraham, Moses, Rahab, David, and countless others (Hebrews 11-12). This cloud relates not only to the men and women of scripture but also to anyone who takes an active part in the mission of God – the sharing of faith, like our parents did every Sunday morning when we were young.
The “witness” in the scripture does not refer to a sideline observer but to someone whose life reflects the truth of the promises of the Lord. The “cloud” isn’t passive but active. It is a reminder of the work that is ahead of us. Our lives may be filled with perplexities, and we may be persecuted, yet we are not abandoned nor destroyed because we testify of the goodness of our Lord (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). We gain resilience through our struggles. Faith is the resource we use to guide us through life’s challenges.
Ultimately, we honor those who came before us through our struggles and beliefs and inspire our future generations to carry on in faith. We should enthusiastically participate in the mission God has set before us, being called to abide in faith, hope, and love (2 Corinthians 13:13).
As we reflect on our lives, maybe we should ask if our cloud is an active or a passive one and what legacy of faith are we willing to leave behind.

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.