Last week, I had a 3-hour layover in the Denver airport. After I grabbed some lunch, I settled in at my gate to catch up on some email. As I looked down at my computer, I saw a folded sheet of paper on the floor underneath my chair. At first, I ignored it. But each time I looked back down, there it was again, staring at me. I saw two columns written in small, blocky handwriting, but I couldn’t make out the words. Eventually, curiosity got the best of me and I bent down to pick it up.
I was shocked and made better by what I read.
The column on the left was a To-Do List. Each task had been crossed off, except for the last.
Write thank you notes.
Call florist.
Pack suit.
Get music to someone.
On the right, in capital letters and underlined were the words, JOHN’S LEGACY. Beneath it, a few bullet points.
– Family man
– Good friend (First to help)
– Hard worker
– Strong faith
– Baseball Coach (“Finish well, boys!”)
I soon realized it was an outline for a funeral service. The person who wrote it was probably giving the eulogy.
Holding the summary of his life in my hand, I suddenly felt protective over John as if the list were about me or someone I love. I was insulted. The thought of an entire life being reduced to so few words made my stomach turn. And these non-descript, common phrases like “family man” and “hard worker” didn’t seem dignified enough to honor a life well-lived. Surely there was more to him. There must be a better way to describe him than “good friend” or “Coach”.
Then I heard from somewhere inside of me –
Not if you’re a player on his team.
Not if you’re the friend he helped when you needed him most.
At first glance, it seemed like the list could have described lots of men. But it didn’t. It described John.
…who loved his family more than anything else in the world.
…who was the first in line to help someone in need.
…whose work ethic set the standard, encouraging everyone around him to do more – and do it all the way.
…whose faith was a beacon.
John…who taught his players how to finish well.
One of my favorite quotes is from Harold Kushner. It says, “Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it.”
I used to think a legacy was built of grand moments and great accomplishments. And when I considered all the forgotten history behind us, it seemed it was only reserved for those who shaped the world in profound ways.
But now I see the truth.
We’re all shaping the world profoundly – in ways we can see and ways we can’t begin to imagine. We don’t define our legacy in one moment of glory. We build it every day – through our most daring acts and even what we might consider to be mundane.
Legacy isn’t about an ultimate gift you’ll someday give the world. It’s about everything you give the world. It won’t be written about you someday in the future. You’re writing it now.
That’s why it matters that you got out of bed this morning,
And that you give your best to the work of your hands.
That’s why it matters when you’re kind to a stranger,
And quick to help a friend,
That you love well.
John got it right. In the end, it’s not about a pile of cash, a fat rolodex or your picture on a wall. It’s about changing your corner of the world…and hopefully teaching someone how to finish well in the process.
Your fingerprints are all over the world around you – offering perspective that only you can, healing hurts that only you can, shaping the future as only you can.
Sounds like a legacy to be proud of to me.
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BEAUTIFUL again. Just beautiful!!!
Found this after entering the contest to win Anita’s stuff, wow! What a great way to start my day. So insightful and right on target. Thanks.
Thanks for stopping by, Theresa. If that spoke to you, I think you’d like the rest of what you’d find here. :) It’s in line with my other posts. :) I hope you’ll come again. Merry Christmas!
Hello Chance,
What a great story and message!!! Life is short and we must stay focused on the things that bring about the most value and allow us to leave a legacy. Thank you for writing this amazing post! I’ll be back to your blog.
Thanks, Dan. :) So nice to meet you. Do stop by again, or subscribe if that would be easier for you. I can tell by your comment that your perspective would be valuable for everyone. Hope to get to know you better.
Glad to add to the conversation and connect with you even more. It looks like you have a great community here.
I am on the beach as I read your blog today. I am watching a grandfather play with his grandson. Their interaction is a beautiful connection of full attention and unhurried activity. I am comparing that scene to an earlier one where a dad walked ahead of his young son talking intensely on his cell phone. The little boy tried to get his father’s attention multiple times to stop and look at something in the sand or water. Dad walked onward annoyed that his conversation was being interrupted. Finally, the boy slumped his shoulders, with head down and turned back from the walk carrying his plastic bucket and shovel to the towel alone. Different memories and legacies being left by those men.
Each of us want to feel we matter. That we are wanted. That we are important. That our goals matter. We made a difference.
The battle is to believe! To believe we matter. We are wanted. We are important. We make a difference. Yet, each of us have a choice to do just that and to leave a legacy by doing so. Each of us have the opportunity to carry that out and make an impact.
I love how God puts things in our life that we can’t ignore and the lessons we get from them. The paper was part of God’s plan for you, right then. Love it!!!
Thank You for reminding us: “Your fingerprints are all over the world around you – offering perspective that only you can, healing hurts that only you can, shaping the future as only you can.”
I needed to hear this today…thank you Chance.
Well, thank YOU then for taking time to read this today. I’m honored to have the opportunity to help. So glad it resonated with you.
Thank you for encouragement and these truths on a day filled with seemingly mundane acts, but one that I know I have loved well.
:)
I’m glad that piece of paper kept staring at you. Go Paper!
HA! Me too! :)
Thank you for the reminder that the mundane things we do every day are important. I needed that reminder. I especially love the lines about our legacy: “It won’t be written about you someday in the future. You’re writing it now.” Thank you for sharing your insights.
Interesting that you pulled that out. Those were the lines that spoke the most to me personally as well. :)
Thanks for reading and for sharing your perspective here.
Hey Chance, thanks for the great reminder to press on to the high calling. I think of a great friend almost everyday whose life impacted me so much. He was a missionary who had very little……but loved greater and served harder than most I have known. His life was a vapor, as ours are, but he changed my life. I hope I follow those steps. Thanks for the encouragement. GBU.
Wow…what a legacy. Can you imagine how many people he affected – and what that will yield in time? Wow.
A very thoughtful and poignant post. I read it over again three times, because it was so touching. I gave a eulogy at my father’s funeral and know what a lot can be represented by those simple little aides memoire on a reminder list. What you say is so true; our biggest contribution to the world is through the quality of our relationships. In the end, all that’s left is love.
Yes. It’s everything…and it’s enough.
Thank you for writing this! It is such an e couragement!
Thank you for reading it and making it more than just words on a page. :)