"Legacy"

 Reflections4Life™ November 27, 2022

“Legacy”

“This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery, in a nutshell, is just this: Christ is in you, so, therefore, you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message.” Colossians 1:26-27 (MSG)

Scripture Contemplation: 2 Samuel 20; Proverbs 1; Romans 9; 1 Corinthians 15; Hebrews 12; Colossians 1

©Ruthe McDonald.

I decree that this week’s Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for heart, mind, and soul. Seek God with all of your heart and soul, allowing Him to reveal to you the legacy that resides inside of you. The legacy of those loved ones that you may still mourn and grieve. Allow God to show you how to turn that mourning into gladness and all suffering into a teaching moment for you and others. There are healing and greatness after the pain of loss, and a beautiful message to be shared and received.

For those who celebrated Thanksgiving this past week, I hope it was filled with much love and joy, with happy memories. Mine was very quiet and left a lot of time for me to think and contemplate quite a few things. One of those things, as I spoke with a loved one, was the ache you feel in your heart when you think of the ones you love that have passed on to glory. How their presence is missed and how things were when they were here with us.

There are times when missing our loved ones is so heavy that we can barely breathe. Our hearts ache and the longing for them only intensifies. For some, mourning and grieving can become debilitating, leaving them almost paralyzed and unable to move forward in life. In addition to this mourning are our life struggles, heartbreaks, and life and heart lessons.

Can I be honest with you, Beloveds? Completely transparent and authentic? For the past three years—at the minimum—I have been going through some harrowing things. I have not—my person—been okay for a long time. My work, my ministry, and what I do for others have been OK. In fact, much of it has been thriving. However, me—my person—that part of me that is just about me, the relationship with myself and how I feel, and what hurts me has not been okay for a long time.

She has been in a lot of pain; suffering a lot of heartache and loss. There has been a lot of brokenness and incompleteness. However, God is making up for me what needs completing. He is filling that part of me; that part of me that is separate from what I do—the personal me—God is taking care of and completing the work that needs to be fulfilled; to complete on my part the assignment on my family’s lineage and legacy. Giving me yet another purpose to pursue.

Part of my personal heartache is grieving my loved ones, my mentors who poured into me every single day of my life encouragement and inspiration, especially my mother. The transitions of my loved ones have only intensified the other heartaches. The personal hurts, and wounds sustained—not by my own device or hands—have taken their toll. Have you ever felt like your life is nothing but suffering and loss? This is a critical place, Beloved.  

The suffering and the loss overwhelm us, not knowing what to do, how to cope, and move forward. We feel stuck and uncertain. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. We are either going to pray and seek God more earnestly. Or, we move away from God and allow the hurt, pain, and loss to swallow us whole, along with our dreams, hopes, visions, and legacies.

I refuse to allow what I am going through to stop me from running the race that God says I have already won. I refuse to allow this hurt and sorrow to drown me and keep me from finishing the work God and my loved ones began. I refuse to allow ANYONE to steal from my hope, joy, and belief in love and happiness. Not going to happen, especially when God tells me that sorrow only lasts for a night but joy comes in the morning. I may not know how long that night is or when that morning will finally get here, but I can trust God to keep His word that it is coming!

In the meantime, as I transition through these feelings, God is bringing healing and completeness to my person. I have learned and am remembering that I must be proactive in my healing and deliverance. This is a FAITH walk and not a FEELING or EMOTIONS walk. The truth is our souls (will/emotions/feelings) will delude us and have us give up when we are that close to our morning and breakthroughs. Beloved, our souls cannot be trusted. They move and change like the wind. They are unstable and unreliable. However, faith in our Father will always be stable. God is not moved by our will, emotions, or feelings. He is moved by our faith, our obedience, and our sacrifice.

My grieving and mourning time is over. It is time to celebrate the life and legacy of my loved ones. Grieving over what someone did to me, broken promises, hurt, and harm is OVER. I take a stand NOW, in the promises of God, move forward in faith and boldness, and take the lessons I have learned and share them with others. I pick up the baton that my loved ones have left to be completed. It’s my turn to do my part. To add to my family’s legacy on this earth. To make sure the names, work, and hearts of those who transitioned are not forgotten but continue to grow and be established for generations to come.

What I have suffered personally; the heartaches and heartbreaks that I have endured did not and could not break me. Not with God in my life and on my side. I have learned that all of it has been for my growth and development and walk in the Lord. Once I surrendered it all to God and allowed Him to have complete access to my heart, soul, and mind—the Father began taking those hurts and using them for my good and the good of others, establishing a purpose for me to complete. Life does not always go the way we desire. Yet, the lessons we are learning, the pain we endure, the forgiveness we receive—is all a part of God creating a legacy; a legacy of greatness, of love, of promise.

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity finds permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. God takes our suffering, our mourning, and grieving, and gives us strength and purpose in its place. We all have legacies to carry on and to create. Take off your mourning clothes and put on the garments of praise and worship. God has something great in store for you. All you have to do is believe it and accept it. God will do the rest. You are blessed. Now go…and be a blessing!

©2022. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.