Last week we went to a
meeting and we were asked what Whitney Houstan’s legacy would be – of course,
it’s her voice and the incredible music she made. Then we were asked
what our legacy might be. What impact will we leave behind from being here
in Africa? What a tough question to ponder and think about! It got me thinking
about all the tasks I perform here and if there is purpose in all the things I do?
It made me wonder if I do things with all the right intentions? It got me wondering
if I share God’s love with enough people here.
The man speaking to us
referred to Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the well........
Jacob’s well.
John 4 v 4-6; 'Now he (Jesus) had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon’.
It was explained to us that Jacob’s legacy had been so great that the well he had built 1700 years earlier was still being used for it’s intended purpose – to draw water. Jesus sat at Jacob’s legacy!
Jacob’s well.
John 4 v 4-6; 'Now he (Jesus) had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon’.
It was explained to us that Jacob’s legacy had been so great that the well he had built 1700 years earlier was still being used for it’s intended purpose – to draw water. Jesus sat at Jacob’s legacy!
Since that meeting I
have been trying to be more intentional about the things I do, the people I
speak to and the impact I have each day. I guess it’s hard for any of us to know
what our Legacy will be once we have left the place we have been called to.
That place may be in the village in Africa, working in a school, being a parent, shaking hands with a
visitor at church on a Sunday morning or smiling at the cashier at your local supermarket!.
Some days I wonder
what the point of me being here is, some days I struggle with the task in front
of me and cannot fathom how it will be ‘fixed’. The thing I forget at these times is that God is the one choosing to work through me, I just have to let Him. I
often think I am imperfect and feel too weak to do what’s asked but so did
those of Moses, Esther and Paul in the Bible. I am just an ordinary person with
an amazing God who can do Big things. He can do things like dry up the dead sea
and wipe out an entire Egyptian army if the one called to do that work is
obedient and trusts in God’s call.
The Bible says we walk
by faith and not by sight. I am stepping in faith each day doing what God has
called me to be. I am trusting God, there is no other sane way to face each day
here. I have no idea what my Legacy will be in this place, if anything at all.
I probably won’t ever know either but He knows and has a purpose in my being here.
Have you thought about
the Legacy you are creating today?
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty"
ReplyDeleteEverday as you work in Uganda you are being the feet and hands of Jesus - going where He sends you to help the sick and poor. Be sure that you are making a difference to these lovely people. I am praying for you. Love Mum x x
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteSurprised to hear from me?
Well I am helping Helen (Watterson) to create a web site for the Tumaini Children’s Home (will be www.tumaini-childrens-home.org) and discussed your web site with her. Hence looking at it recently.
Saw you post ref "legacy" and your comment "....what the point of me being here is..."
Well as an outsider with much appreciation and admiration with the challenges you have set yourself I would say with NO doubt you will, and do, have an impact and that you will, and are, creating a legacy which many others can only dream of achieving.
Keep up the good work and enjoy your remaining months there.
Barry.