Life and Legacy

Friends since we were 12 -- Brandie and me

Today was the Sunday that many Methodists and other Wesleyans observe as Aldersgate Sunday, a time to mark John Wesley's famous experience of feeling his heart "strangely warmed," as the Spirit assured him of God's love and forgiveness.  You will not be surprised that I was thinking of this today as I helped lead a service of worship at Meredith College at the conclusion of the 30th year reunion of the class of 1989.

Naturally there was no mention of Aldersgate during the service because Meredith is a Baptist college, but the preacher today (Rev. Mandy England Cole) took as her text the verses from 2 Timothy 1 and 2 referring to Timothy's first preachers and teachers of the faith, his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice.  She invited us to begin to think of that long line of mothers and sisters and brothers and fathers, of teachers and professors, ministers and Sunday School teachers, and the host of nameless and unknown women and men whose struggles have made our growth and success possible.

I recalled some of my key encouragers and mentors as we sat in the silence of Jones Chapel. Some I knew personally. My mother, of course.  Gayle Felton.  Allen Page.  And then I remembered the ones who are part of that great cloud of witnesses referenced in Hebrews whom I know only because of what I have read, heard, or been taught.   Mary Magdalene.  The beloved Persis.  Lydia and Priscilla and Phoebe.  And then I thought of Susanna Annesley Wesley and of her sons John and Charles (whose own dynamic experience of God's presence preceded John's by 3 days.)  What a bright and shining example of faith and courage and persistence all of these have been!  What a lasting impact they have had on so many others with ripples literally spreading out across the centuries and around the world!

Then there was a reading of the names of Meredith alumnae who have died since the last reunion in 2018, and it was a soberingly long roll call of Meredith Angels who now sing with the heavenly choir.  It reminded me of the service we have each year at Annual Conference to mark the deaths of pastors and their spouses during the year prior to our gathering, and I wondered,  when my time comes, how will I be remembered?  Will my name be on someone's list of supportive godly women who listened and cared and told them of God's grace and love?  Have I been/am I being a mother in the faith whose influence will carry on beyond the small circle of people who know me best?

Important questions to reflect upon!  Interestingly, these thoughts first occurred to me when I was a sophomore at Meredith College in Dr. Rosemary Hornak's Developmental Psychology class.  One of our last assignments was to write our own obituary, not something most 19 year olds are inclined to think of on their own!  She asked us to imagine what we would like to do with our lives, how we would spend them, and who would be our main mourners.  Those questions are part of the toolkit I use when I sit down with someone to plan their own or a loved one's funeral.  I ask them, "How would you like to be remembered?" and "What difference has being a Christian made in the way that your beloved relative lived and died?"

It's not a bad exercise for any of us at any age or stage, actually.  If we kept the end game in mind, it would certainly have an effect on the choices we make.  And so, on this Aldersgate Sunday, I ask you to take a few moments in the silence to consider who the saints have been in your life who have helped to mold you into the person you are becoming, and also to consider what will be the legacy you leave.  Will it be a life well-lived and well-loved, a life that was filled with a heart that was "strangely warmed" with grace and mercy and compassion?  I hope the answer for you and for me to that will be a resounding yes.