Legacy

     This week I cleaned out a closet.  It's that closet everybody has where things are kept that you don't always use but can't get rid of.  Those odd items that  don't really have another place.   Old cassette tapes, VCR tapes of the kids that have long since been converted to DVDs.  The glue gun along with various crafting materials.  And quilts.
     Quilts are something that have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  I love quilts.  There's nothing like a cold winter night under a pile of quilts!  But the quilts in this closet are special.  They are part of our legacy.  Quilts that belonged to both of my grandmothers and one of my husband's grandmothers.  In fact, they didn't just belong to them.  Along with aunts, mothers, sisters and other ladies, our grandmothers made these quilts.
     Just what is a legacy?  The Bible says that (Proverbs 22:1) a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.  Ecclesiastes 7:1 tells us that a good name is better than perfume.  A man gives his name to his bride when they marry (I still love writing my married name after 25 years!  In fact I told my husband recently that it still makes me smile after all these years.)  A man gives his name to his children.  A good name is a legacy.  You are known by that name.  Unfortunately a name connected with a bad reputation is also a legacy.  Whatever the case, a man's name is a huge part of his legacy.
     But a quilt.  My mom used to go to the 'quilting' every Tuesday when we were kids.  All the church ladies would meet and quilt and talk and eat.  Those ladies made some amazing quilts.  But the quilts in this closet were much older for the most part.  Heavy with that old cotton stuffing.  One in particular was apparently made for my paternal grandparents by ladies of the community, maybe 80 years ago or more.  Each square has an 'H' for Hale, which is my maiden name and of course their surname.  Embroidered inside the H's were the names of the people who made the squares (some had names of husbands and wives....romantic even!) and helped make the quilt. It's absolutely amazing.  Every time I see it I imagine that quilting bee where the ladies gathered together quilting, sharing recipes, talking about their husbands and watching their kids as they ran around the room playing.  So not only is that amazing piece of artwork a legacy, so are the memories that go with them.  The patchwork quilts made from scraps of material from dresses and shirts. 
     When I think of my grandmothers though, there is a lot more than quilts in the legacies they left.  Both had very hard lives.  Both were marriage standers when no one even knew what that meant.  One raised seven kids and one raised two.  Both stood by their husbands during very difficult years.  The way the world sees things today, my grandmothers would have been expected to give up and move on.  I am so grateful they didn't.
     My maternal grandmother lost two babies and raised two kids.  She made everything from soap to clothes to a plaque we have hanging over our dining table today just like she had hanging over hers more than 50 years ago.  She stood by my grandpa, enduring difficult times and doing things women today would consider way beneath them.  I've watched her pluck chickens, pasteurize milk and make any dress or outfit I could come up with.  She spent her Sunday afternoons cutting hair for the men and boys of the family and then making dinner for all of us.  And when my grandpa became ill and had to be moved to a nursing home, she went to see him every chance she got.  She continued giving him haircuts just like she had done for almost 70 years.  She made sure all his belongings were labeled and accounted for.  They attended church together at the nursing home and worshiped the Lord together despite their circumstances.  And she loved him.
     My paternal grandmother raised seven children.  She, too, stood by her husband.  A woman in her shoes today would be considered off her rocker if she 'put up' with things my grandmother put up with.  But she stood.  And it paid off.  I didn't realize just how much until about a week ago when I came across the sheet music for a song my grandpa had asked me to sing for him when I was a teenager.  The song, "I Have Returned", felt like torture to me as I would perform it in churches back then.  I didn't like the music or the words.  The song seemed ridiculously long and my dad even timed me when I would sing it to see just how long it really was.  But when I came across it last week and sat down at the piano, the words came alive!  I realized why it was so important to my grandpa.  The words spoke of being a prodigal and returning to the Lord.  They were deep and meaningful and I couldn't believe I didn't realize it sooner.  He loved the song because he had been that prodigal.  And he had returned. And I'm so glad my grandmother stood.  She prayed. And she loved him.
     So what will your legacy be?  Will you leave a good name?  Will you teach your kids how to love and respect their spouse?  Will you show them you chose to live according to God's Word instead of according to the opinions of the world?   What will the patches in your patchwork quilt include? Will it be there for your grandchildren to remind them of a godly legacy?   It's up to you.  What kind of legacy will you leave?