A Mother’s Legacy-Driven Mindset That Money Cannot Buy

The clock is ticking, and the biggest day of celebration worldwide in honor of mothers is just moments away from May 10th, 2015, the actual day on which it is celebrated.

First off, I considered not writing a post this time around. Since the year 2002, Mother’s Day for me has been a bitter-sweet moment.

The memories of my beloved mother and not having her around – well let’s just say the pain is just too much and it’s one occasion that I can assure you that I shed tears.

Added to that, it is the 1st anniversary of the death of my eldest sister who on May 10th, 2014 was hospitalized and died May 12th, 2014, exactly one day after Mother’s Day 2014.

Having said all that, what caused me to change my mind about writing a post?

Rest assured, it’s not to vent my sadness.

It’s not to re/write my mother or sister’s eulogy, rather it is to reflect on their legacy, the things that my mother especially have taught me, to honor them and other mothers for their legacy as well and how we can learn from them and impart the same good values to our children.

I am leaving this legacy to all of you…to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die–the dream of freedom and peace.” _ Rosa Parks

What is a Legacy?

Many sources have given the meaning of a legacy to mean, ‘money or property that you receive from someone after they die.’

According to Harleena Singh in a guest post she wrote previously on my blog, “Legacy is inheritance. Legacy is your gift to the world. Legacy is your act of gratitude.”

I will add by saying that a legacy for me is an intangible family trait or spiritual gift that runs through and remains in the blood line and passed down from one generation to the next. It is something that is a part of your history or that remains from an earlier time.

 

Lessons Mothers Have Taught Us and the Legacy They Left Behind

Dr. Steve Maraboli, Life-changing Speaker and best-selling Author spoke passionately about the lessons his mother taught him in an article on Huffington Post entitled ‘Every Day Is Mother’s Day.’

It’s a personal story about his mother and how she died from cancer and his last moments with her. What stuck with me most about the story was what he said his mother taught him – things that I too can attest to and consider as a mother’s legacy.

He said, “I am so grateful for all my mom has taught me: to say please and thank you, to be considerate of others, to share, to laugh, to be smart with money, to be a good friend, to forgive, to read, to listen, to never give up, to tell the truth, to clean up my mess, to respect others, to love unconditionally and to “keep your eyes on your own plate and enjoy your meal.” ~ Dr. Steve Maraboli

Read Dr. Maraboli’s inspirational post HERE 

Here are some lessons mother’s have taught us that some would consider ‘old school’ and what helped to shape us into who we are today

“My mom taught me about patience. ‘You’ll sit there until all your spinach is gone.’

My mom taught me about weather. This room of yours looks like a tornado went through it.’

My mom taught me the circle of life. ‘I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it.’

My mom taught me about anticipation. ‘You just wait until you get home.’

My mom taught me irony. ‘Keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry about.’

My mom taught me wisdom. ‘When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.’ ~ [from 25 Things My Mom Taught Me – Poem by Howard Kern]

 

My Mother’s Legacy

“The constant love of a mother becomes a bedrock of security for her children.” ~ Barbara Rainey

Beyond the gifts, the beautifully written cards, the flowers and all the other material things, “Are you building that your children can inherit even now before you leave this world? When that time comes, how will your children remember you?”

These are vital questions that each one of us as mothers or mothers to be must search within ourselves to find the answers to and to put a plan of action into place.

I am forever grateful to my Mother, the impact that she’s had on my life. Her legacy is priceless and it’s my gift to you this Mother’s Day and beyond.

1.) Legacy of Love

My Mother is deceased but she left a legacy of love that by my words, supported by my actions I wish to infect the world with love that is unconditional.

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (Jon 15:13 NIV)

I believe it is the universal instinct of a mother to protect and rescue our children and whatever the situation, to lay down our life for them. Clearly they need us and their survival depends on us.

A mother’s love is so powerful that it can heal a wounded spirit and lift you out of the depth of despair to bring you to the glory on the mountain top.

In his book entitled  “Attachment,” Psychoanalyst John Bowlby wrote about the importance of the mother-child bond by saying, “The young child’s hunger for his mother’s love and presence is as great as his hunger for food.” By contrast he added, “Her loss or absence inevitably generates a powerful sense of loss and anger.”

Although I continue to feel the great loss of my mother, I find peace in knowing that my mother’s love was loyal, protective, self-sacrificing and known to be fierce based on the situation that presented itself.

I am who I am today not only by the grace of Almighty God, but because of the numerous examples and demonstrations of my mother’s unconditional love.

2.) Legacy of my identity in Christ

The legacy of your identity in Christ which basically is the deposit of God’s truth into your children, is far more important than all the gifts or material possessions combined.

It is not something that you can have written in your last will or testament and neither is there a need for children and family members gathered nervously in front of a lawyer to find out how the gift is being disbursed to them.

As mothers, we need to do our uttermost best to ensure that we are building our foundation on biblical truths, and consciously impart and instill the same principles to our children that will redound much to their benefit in applying biblical truth in making godly decisions in their.

We can never take our children having a relationship with Christ and their identity through Him for granted. To impart this legacy to our children, we must continually initiate sharing biblical truths with them.

My mother and grandmother built a strong family foundation on the word of God and led me by their example of reading the bible in my presence daily.

So in honor of my mother and her memory, I wholeheartedly thank her for the legacy of my identity in Christ and for counseling me with an open heart, an open mind and above all, an open bible.

“Train up a child in the he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6 KJV

3.) Legacy of Servant-hood

For years I never quite understood the reason behind my mother always wanting to help and to literally serve or be a servant to others. She had a mindset for that and nothing you said to her deterred her from doing what she had a heart to do.

She served in the church and would even have us her children right alongside with her doing the work of the Lord from a very young age.

After I moved out of the home and got married, my mother readily and willingly without coercion, took on the role of being our servant, helping us with our household duties and by extension, baby-sat and helped us to raise our young children.

It was not until after her death that I learned from God’s word that my mother was actually living out her life on earth based upon biblical principle that whoever wants to be a great leader must first be servants.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” ~ Matthew 20:25-26 NIV

Successful leaders serve others first. So today, I am proud to honor my mother for being a woman of such noble character, my best role model and I thank God for her life as an exemplary leader in our home, in church and in society.

She has now become the shining model of servant-hood and her legacy of servant-hood that she imparted to us her children, I give as a gift to you on this Mother’s Day.