Legacy of Love

I have been intrigued lately with Mary, The Mother of Jesus.  Mary was a special Mom because of her son. Just like you and I, her children made her the mother she was.  Mary grew up with a desire to nurture and God saw in her the ability to nurture His Love in His son, Jesus. The innate desire we have to nurture was first born in the love we had for a doll or stuffed animal.  As we grew so did our desire and need to nurture.  So we added siblings, friends, child care and pet sitting to the avenues we used to nurture.    

A legacy, by definition, requires us to give it TO someone.  Nurturing is giving of who we are TO others, especially our children.  The legacy is born when we allow them to live out what we have nurtured within them. With this comes laughter, dreams and tears of joy.

The giving of ourselves as a Mother may remind us of Paul’s comment in Philippians 2 of being poured out like a drink offering on the service of our children’s faith.  Despite feeling drained in every way when our children stumble on pressures and temptations; or we struggle with potty training, driving lessons, first day of school, college or even when we watch them first try out their wings.  Who knew two little words could try both our patience and our heart strings – from “I do, I do” to “I do", on their wedding day. The pain of nurturing a little one does not compare to the joy we experience when one day the Legacy of His Love shines in them like stars in the universe and we hear others speak of our children the way Paul spoke of Timothy when he said; ^“ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2Timothy1:5

We can nurture our dolls and give them to our children with stories to share and add too.  Our dolls can not pass on the legacy and thereby give to us the Joy that comes when we have the privilege of watching our Legacy of Love in action.

I could not find a clip that best showed Mary’s moments of joy; when she FOUND young Jesus teaching in the temples, when she heard God say “this is my son with whom I am well pleased”, when she held Jesus and comforted him and later heard him talk about God comforting us like a Mother does their child, but none compared to the day when she heard Him say to her - ‘well done good and faithful servant.” 

Our dolls are cherished memories of nurturing born in us and our children  - the birth of His Legacy of Love.  I share Paul’s prayer that we each may be rooted in His love so that His legacy may grow in our children.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21”