One day you and I are going to leave this place.

Sounds creepy and sad, right? That you and I one day will no longer exist in this world. One day someone we love will speak at our funeral and a couple songs will be sung, maybe some flowers will be donated and then that’s it, all that will be left is your legacy.

Your weight will be of no importance when you die, neither will whether or not you dated the football player. People are going to forget about all the number of likes you got on your insta pictures, and I doubt anyone will remember where you sat during lunch and if you got an A- or A in that impossible college course.

People will remember one thing- how you made them feel.

Today I turned 20. And no matter how old I get, I love a good list. So today I’m setting goals not only for myself, but also for you about the kind of legacy I want to leave in this world. Five things I want accomplished each day, and each minute while I’m temporarily residing in the world.

I want to leave of legacy of joy. I want no one to leave my presence without realizing how fun it is to live with the holy spirit inside your soul.

1 Peter 1:8-9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
 I want to be known as someone who shows love to the least of these, who cares for the  outcasts, and who practices what they preach.
Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'”

 

I want to be someone who takes time to pray for others. I want to be an encouragement to others through friendship and prayer. I want to be a shoulder to cry on, but also someone who challenges those I love to grow. 

Ephesians 3:17-19″So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 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, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

I want to be someone who loves recklessly. I want to love like Christ has loved me. 

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

I want to be someone who carries their cross daily. Someone who wakes up each               morning to serve God. Someone who lives to bring Him glory.

Matthew 16:24-26″Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life[a]will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

Each morning, I pray my life brings God glory. I pray I can use each breath the Lord breathes into me to bring Him praise and worship Him through loving others. I want this life given to me to be given to Christ. To die is gain when I live this way. I want to leave a legacy that brings God glory. I want my life to be given to Him.

Here’s to sunrises, new mercies, and a consistent God. Here’s to my failures, mistakes, and regrets. And here’s to a God who takes my ashes and turns them into beauty, my pain into a testimony, and takes my simple life and gives me purpose.

 

 

Written by Grace Valentine

I love Jesus, diet coke and sunflowers. I wish I lived in the mountains, but love the two states I call home--Louisiana and Texas. I can watch Criminal Minds all day and dream of one day owning an ice cream truck for fun. However, my main goal in life is that more girls will realize the worth they have through Christ Jesus--and with Him and Him only we are enough.

10 comments

  2. Happy Birthday!! And thanks for this amazing article 🙂 the legacy you’ve already left has been amazing

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  3. Grace Valentine, thank you for being a shining example of what loving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is all about. I am 69 years old, and have always loved, tried to live my life as an example, rusted and leaned on God all my life. He has never let me down. He is faithful to all His promises and carried me through some pretty horrible situations.I look forward to seeing my Jesus face to face one day and falling at His feet to worship and thank Him personally for all the ways He has blessed me all of my life.

    Keep letting your light shine, precious child of God, and setting an example for others. Your crown will be heavy with jewels, and your robe of righteousness will be glorious when you stand before our King of Kings and Lord of Lords and see all the people you have helped by you living your life as a shining example.

    God bless you, precious child, as you walk your journey with God that was planned out for you “before the earth was formed”.. …….💟😊💟

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