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NONNA’S kNOWledge
What Is Your Dash? Living Your Legacy
BY CAROLYN JOY
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Do you ever stop to think that you are presently living your legacy? In everything you do, everything you say, and with every day that passes, how you are living can lead to how people talk about you and what people think of you. You are currently living what people will remember about you and say about you when you’re gone. Why not live an intentional legacy today?
When someone passes away, we memorialize their life with their name, the day they were born, and the day they died. In between those two dates, we place a dash. That small, inconsequential line between two former dates on a calendar represents an entire life— as short or long as that life may have been. The look of the dash does not change, whether the person was well known or not known at all. The look of the dash does not change if the person was good or bad. The dash doesn’t change if the person was a king, a president, or a homeless person.
What changes is what people will say about the person and what kind of a legacy they’ve left behind. That dash is your legacy!
My three children are now grown and have families of their own. While I’ve taught them many things, the greatest legacy I will leave them is having a relationship with the Lord. From an early age, I took them to church, taught them childhood Christian songs, and read them the Bible. Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) promises, Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it. I know this to be true. We went through some pretty tough times when my kids were younger. Parenting is challenging. However, God is faithful. I now have three married children, two amazing sons-in-law, one awesome daughter-inlaw, and eleven grandchildren (ten on earth, one in heaven) who all love Jesus! I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4 (KJV) I know that joy to be true!
As Christian adults, we have to return to the basics of teaching our children the Word of God. The Godfearing people in the Old Testament not only taught their children about God, but their children also memorized God’s Word. The children who walked the desert with Moses knew how to pray, worship, and recite Scripture. The godly parents of long ago did not have the Bible, colorful books, dramatic shows, and cute dancing videos to entertain and teach their children about the ways of the Lord.
We have become a world of instant gratification, leaning into social media, TV shows, and computer games. How much time do we devote to sitting down and teaching our children Scriptures and Bible stories? Christians have become somewhat desensitized to the value of the Bible. Most families have more than one Bible in their home or could purchase one at any time. What would happen if we didn’t have the Word of God so readily available? Would your younger family members know how to recite Scripture or repeat their favorite Bible stories? Do your little ones know how to recite the books of the Bible, the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), or Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd)? Are your children comfortable with praying?
I encourage you to pass down a legacy of Scripture reading and memorization. Sing praise songs to your children, read them bible stories, and teach them to pray. Our lost and perverse culture depends on the legacy that God-fearing people today will leave behind. There is no time like the present to step up to the plate. Do it now, and let your dash leave a legacy of holiness.
Carolyn Joy is a Southwest Florida Real Estate Agent, mother of three married children and Nonna to eleven grandchildren. She serves in her church and helps lead a women’s Bible study in her community.
NONNA’S CHUCKLE:
My 6-year-old granddaughter told me with great excitement that she was now the official rider of her two-wheel bicycle. Her mommy—my daughter—taught her how to ride it. I informed her that, just like her mommy, I also taught my daughter how to ride a two-wheeler.
My 8-year-old granddaughter chimed in, “That’s teaching bike riding generation to generation!”
Whether big or small, like it or not, we are always teaching the next generation. What are you passing along “generation to generation”?
