Have you ever thought about leaving a mark on this world when you’re gone? If so, whose mark are you planning to leave?
As I thought about that question tonight, I was quickly reminded of a post I wrote a while back about an episode of “Little House on the Prairie.” (Yeah, I’m a big Little House fan.)
After Charles builds a folding leaf table, he sets out to have it mass produced. He was willing to give up everything they had worked for to pursue this dream, including their home. Thankfully he runs into some trouble and chooses a better direction.
Near the end of the episode he’s sitting back in his chair talking to a friend when he says, “You know why I started all this? All this work? Because I wanted to be remembered. My initials on a piece of furniture–I wanted strangers to remember me. I wasn’t even giving my own children a chance to remember me.”
I saw that episode in 1982 and it stuck with me to this day. Whenever I’m self-centered and concerned about what I want in this life my thoughts go back to that mark on the table. I’m reminded of what’s important in this world.
The greatest line from the episode is when Caroline says, “If it’s a legacy you’re after Charles, you can’t do better than our children.”
That speaks volumes to me. We can’t do better than to love and serve the people God has placed in our lives, can we?
You see, leaving a mark on this world is different than leaving a mark on the heart of another. Whether it’s loving our children, our spouse, a sick parent or friend… we can’t do better than love.
I matter to a God who loved me before I loved Him. One who cared enough to send His son to die for my sins so that I might live. He’s all that matters. There isn’t a red carpet, a trophy, or a list that could elevate us to a place any higher than that.
And YOU matter. Right where you are; right at this moment. You were created and are loved by an almighty God. That’s what really matters in this mixed-up world of fame and fortune.
The day will come when we take our last breath, bow for the last curtain call, and leave this world on our journey to home. And when that day comes, it’s His mark I desire to leave on this world–not my own.
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Tilling the Soil
Read Isaiah 53 where see a picture of true humility as Christ made himself nothing so that we might be saved.
Planting Hope
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4, NIV)
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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
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You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife