Day 7 of a Week of Writing

I almost went to bed without writing! It was an excruciatingly hot day today and a very crazy day at work and I'm sick of looking at a computer screen.

But it's Father's day.

And I miss my dad. So much.

Next week will be the 5th anniversary of the day he went Home to spend eternity singing Jesus' praises. He always said it just like that: "When I get to heaven, I'll be busy singing Jesus' praises!" And every time I start singing, I think of him. He had a great voice, and I think he passed down that voice to my son Nathaniel. It's a joy to listen to Nathaniel sing.

My dad not only passed down his voice, and other traits, to his family, but a legacy that touched many lives. He knew that what he did in this life mattered, but not for his glory. No, he never sought glory. As he said it, it was the "treasures in heaven" that he sought. However, while he was on this earth, he knew that his life, his actions and what he stood for would affect everyone he encountered.

You've heard the many renditions of living life the way you want to. "Be who you are and don't care about what others think." "People are gonna judge you, so just do what you're gonna do!" "I don't care what other people think, I'm gonna live life the way I want to!"

Don't get me wrong, there is merit in that. We shouldn't pretend to be something we're not. We should live genuinely. But we should care about the legacy we leave behind. Yes, we will be judged by how we live our lives. We can't help ourselves, it's in our human nature to judge, gossip and compare. As wrong as this can be, we will continue to do this forever. And that's why what we do affects others. Because others watch, others see, others follow our example.

How do I know this is true? Because there were hundreds of people at my dad's memorial service. They were there to honor him. They saw the example he set forth in his life. Get this--there were people who attended his service who had never met him before. Why? These friends of dad's kids, siblings, and other family had never met this man, but heard so much about him, they wanted to honor him, to be there for his family. Because they saw his living legacy and who he was in the lives that mattered-his family.

My dad was hard-headed, strong minded, and driven. I watched him grow into a man with a soft, kind, loving heart. He was genuine. He knew what he stood for-the faith in knowing that Jesus Christ died for our sins and lives again so we can live in eternity with Him.  And my dad didn't struggle with sharing that with anyone who came around. Some may not have agreed with him, but they respected him, and remembered with fondness any interaction they had with my dad.

I remember my dad telling his grandsons how their actions affected others. That if they screw up, it would hurt others, even if they didn't think so. He drilled into my boys and nephew how important it was to stand up for something, to do good, to do the right thing, because what they did would be with them the rest of their lives.

We do judge. Should we care about what other people think of us? Not to the extent that we live our lives solely to make people see us in ways that are not truly us, or to think of us in ways that are not genuine. But we should think about the legacy we leave. Because in the end, what people think about us won't really matter to us. But it will matter to others, to who we leave behind.