"Leaving a Legacy...starting a New Year"

From down the hall I saw her...

she had a smile on her face and sat in her wheel chair like a queen upon a throne.

She was a jewel in our church. A women who feared the Lord and radiated beauty. As I helped her prepare to head to the santuary she gently clasped my hand in hers and smiled. "Bless you" she said in her tender voice. She held on tightly to my hands and seemed so eager to share her wisdom. I confess this was the first time Agnes and I met personally. She sat in the pew across the isle from me. With her bible opened on her lap she was very attentive to every word our pastor spoke. Not distracted by the ones around her or the to-do's for the day. She sat and radiated beauty. There was beauty there in her fraigle body. Beauty in her tender touches. Beauty in her crown of wisdom. Beauty in that silver angel that was clipped to her pink silk blouse. I could feel her boldness as she inched closer to a time of full renewal. Her life full of grace and her heart bursting with the good news. In that moment she passed on a legacy. A legacy to fill my years with the beauty of the scriptures; meekeness, patience, forgiveness, a gentle tone, love for the unbelievers, sheparding my children with grace, and many others. As the closing comments where made I saw her hands fold and eyes close, and wondered... were her prayers full of souls needing the Lord? Were her prayers asking for more time her on this earth or contentment in going home? Did she pray for me?

Before I left that day I embraced dear Agnes Ross. A hug that seemed to give her hope. In her tender soft voice she said, "Oh how I wish I could tell you soo much. There are so many stories I can share of God's faithfullness. " I prayed silently that the Lord would stop time even for a moment. So that I could sit and fill my heart with her wisdom. But even she knew there were little ones waiting for me. I hugged her once more as I heard her whisper I love you dear.

Even though those moments were short I will treasure them always...and anxiously await for the time when I can sit in her presence again and feel her love. The sweet love of our savior.

As this new year begins I think of sweet Agnes. Will this be the year she will be with her King in glory? And as my heart reflects on my year ahead I challenge myself...to fill my heart with character qualities that one day can be a leagacy I can pass on to my children and those who are around me.

"A precious gift...a gift of a Hope Chest"


This Christmas my daughter recieved a very special gift from my grandmother...
A special trunk filled with all of her sewing supplies.
As I thought about all of those memories, and thinking of all the stories I can pass on from seeeing my grandmother use these over the years... I was caught off guard when my daughter asked me if she could use this as her Hope Chest.
See my daughter has been wanting her own hope chest for a few years now and we have been on the hunt for "the perfect one". My heart jumped with joy! To use her great grandmothers sewing chest to fill with the things she will one day take to her own home thrilled me to pieces!! The next few days were filled with me and her going through all that was inside. Crocheted snowflakes...7 containers of embroidery thread-all organized and labeled....unfinished cross stiching projects....and many patterns. I also found a pair of old antique sewing scissors and her old measuring tapes. It was a trunk filled with many memories that I had stored up in my heart of the years gone by and soon will be filled with many memories from my daughter in the years ahead as she prepares to be a mother and a wife.
It was a gift of Hope. A hope that one day she will move this into her own home and share with her daughters the story of the first day she recieved this gift. It didn't take my daughter long to find some priceless things to lay inside-(will be posting pictures of those very soon)

(My daughter and my grandmother)