PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

September 29, 2021

LEGACY

Two boys on a bicycle stopped me when I was working in the yard to see if they could have some apples from the tree in the median of our street.  When I told them it was fine, they each picked a couple and began eating.  Another time a couple with younger children stopped for a few apples to eat.  A man on a bicycle spent considerable time picking apples.  He carefully examined each one that he put into bags on the back of his bike.

The two apple trees along with a sour cherry tree and a peach tree were planted by one of the original residents of the street, Vick Stockman.  Every fall Vick collected sap from maple trees all over the area to make maple syrup.  For many years he would bring some to ROTARY.  One year I was fortunate to get a jar.  Some times when people ask if they can pick the apples or cherries I will tell about Vick and how he planted them and cared for them.  The trees are a legacy that he left behind for people to remember him.

Vick was active in his church.  Several years before he died, he gave money to help with the building of a youth center behind his church.  Today the Stockman Youth Center is the home to Dustin’s Place.  The group’s mission is to provide a safe place for children, youth and adults walking through grief to come together in peer groups with persons who are on a walk similar to their own.  Vic’s legacy of concern for the youth of his community continues through Dustin’s Place.

On the second Friday of September, the 19^th anniversary of 9/11, Rob Fuzio, Jr. was interviewed on television.  His father had safely gotten out of the twin towers, but returned to make sure others could make it out.  Unfortunately, Rob Fazio, Sr. was trapped in the building and perished.

Rob Jr. was asked how it felt that he and his children had been robbed of sharing their lives with his father for the last nineteen years.  Rob answered that rather than focus on what they had lost, he focused on the legacy that his father had left behind.  More than once on this September 11 the focus was on the legacy of the heroic deeds and self-sacrifice of those who perished and those who survived.  Their stories inspire all of us and we are thankful for their example.

In II Timothy the author writes: “I am grateful to God – whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestor did – when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. … I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” (II Tim. 1:3, 5)  The author remembers the legacy that his ancestors in the faith left for him that helped to inform what he believed, what he did, and for what he hoped.  Timothy who received the letter was informed by the legacy of the faith of his mother and his grandmother.  One of the greatest legacies that we can pass on to our children and grandchildren is the legacy of faith.

What are the legacies that inform your life?  Whose legacies have given you inspiration, encouragement and direction?  As we once again remember 9/11 the legacies of those who perished in the service of others continues to inspire.  The church I attend has a rich history of legacies of persons who exemplified in many different ways what it means to be a Christian.

What will be your legacy?  How will people remember your story?  How might your example inspire, encourage and give direction to a new generation?