A Legacy.
A word that gets tossed around a bit when someone passes away.
We all want to be remembered somehow, for something.
Some people will be remembered because they leave their name ON stuff. Buildings, stadiums, libraries. Some will be remembered by lots of folks for what they did or what they gave. Inventors, writers, philanthropists.
Some will have an amazing, wonderful legacy.
Some will have a horrible, evil legacy.
I first started thinking about a legacy when my Grama Buell died. What year was it? Early in the 2000's. My Grandma was a pretty amazing woman, but who will remember her besides her family? She was married to Grandpa Buell whose legacy is secure in his artwork, both the artwork that he did of and for us personally and the artwork that he did that is still seen and available in the public world. But what of Grandma Buell? Here's what I had to say about her legacy, at her funeral.
Legacy…. Do you know what a legacy is? That word gets tossed around quite a bit- especially when someone dies. Sometimes we think of a legacy as something that someone leaves behind.
Actually, legacy is defined as money or property bequeathed to another by will or as something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past.
So what about the legacy of my grandmother, Ruth Buell?
By the way, on your way here today, did you pass the Ruth Buell Badminton Courts? That would be a great legacy for my grandmother. She loved to play badminton- as long as she could play when it didn’t mess up her hair- and she loved to win. She was the badminton champion at her YMCA back in the 40’s in Illinois……….. but No? You didn’t see it?
Well then, how about the Ruth Buell Culinary Institute- did you pass by that way? My grandmother was a great cook- always on the hunt for a great new recipe- always willing to try something new. She would watch cooking shows with a pen and paper in hand - writing as fast as she could. But if she didn’t get it all- that was ok- she could make it herself- just by her own sense of taste- a little of this, a little of that, till she got it right. But you say you didn’t pass that either?
Well, how about the Ruth Buell School for Shoppers? That would be a great legacy for my grandmother. She loved to shop- I have my own memories of her and my Mom shopping together every Wednesday, but I know she was a great shopper long before my memories begin. She enjoyed a good bargain, I’m sure, but just the being out for the day was a great thing for her too. But, once again, you say you didn’t pass that on your way either??
Well, how about something more worthy- the “Ruth Buell Center” dedicated to Patriotism- did you pass by that on your way here today? You see, my grandmother loved this country. She was involved, along with my grandfather, to continuing what she knew that this country stood for. She was concerned for the morals and ethics of this nation and she did what she could in her home, family and church to make sure that the traditional, Godly morals she knew to be right were continued and upheld. But Oh dear, you didn’t pass that either?
Well certainly then you must have come by way of the Buell Bible College! What a wonderful legacy that would be!! My Grandmother certainly loved God's word and was dedicated to learning about it and to making sure that others knew about it too. She once taught a Bible study for young couples and all her life was involved herself in the study of God’s word. But I suppose you are going to tell me that you didn’t come by that way to get here today either.
Actually, I am pretty sure how you got here, since there are only a couple of ways to get to this church. I know you didn’t pass any of those places- they don’t really exist, do they? So if not those, what is my grandmother’s legacy??
A great deal of my grandmothers legacy is in this room today. We are her legacy – her family and those of you who have gathered here today too- her friends. Grandma and Grandpa Buell were married for 62 years and had two children- both of whom they taught to love the Lord and both of whom are married to spouses who know and love the Lord too. Between those two children, Grandma and Grampa have eight grandchildren- all of whom know and love the Lord. And those eight grandchildren to this date have 18 children of their own- some of whom are old enough to already have a relationship with Jesus Christ and all of whom are being raised in a home where they are being taught to know and love the Lord. Now that’s a legacy! I’m sure it’s great to have your name on a building or have a Bible College named after you, but if you don’t start with your own family, what’s that worth?
My grandmother’s legacy is also in her friends- people whose lives she and my grandfather touched through their love for others and their desire that others have the relationship with Christ that they had.
In the Bible study that I attend back in Oviedo, we are studying the life and letters of Paul. This past week, our study was about Paul as he traveled on his third missionary journey, much of which he spent saying goodbye to converts that he had brought to the Lord on his earlier journeys. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew his life would be endangered, but where he also knew the Lord wanted him to go. As he was saying good bye to the elders from Ephesus, whom he loved dearly, this is what he said in Acts 20: 24- “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” This explains it perfectly- this is Grandma’s legacy- she finished the race that the Lord Jesus had given her and the task of testifying to the gospel- she testified of it to her children, who testified to their children, who are still testifying to their own children!! She finished this task, not somehow, but triumphantly.
So as you remember Ruth Buell today and in the future, as the wonderful mom, grandma, great-grandma, or friend that she was, or as a superb cook, as a lover of this country, lover of a good shopping day, or even as the badminton champion, I hope most of all you will remember her legacy. I hope that like me, you will want to have that same legacy- to have finished your race not somehow, but triumphantly and that you too will have left a family here on earth that you are sure you will see again one day- a family that knows and loves Jesus Christ.
I feel the same way about my Grama now as I did then.... her most important legacy- her family. That great grandchild count that I referred to above- it now stands at 20 kiddos!
I was reminded again of a legacy a few weeks ago when a wonderful family friend, Henny Braam, went to be with the Lord. She and her whole family have been friends of my whole family for many years, at least a couple of decades! This time it was my Mom's thoughts that reminded me of a legacy. My Mom and Henny, along with their husbands, dined together, and traveled together all over the world. Mom and Henny went to Bible study together, movies together, ate lunch together, attended hundreds of their kids ball games together. There wasn't too much that happened to one that the other didn't know about. Here is what my Mom said in some thoughts that she wrote for a family remembrance book at the time of Henny's funeral.
J.I. Packer has written, "Great women impress us as not simply raised up for their own day, but as women who are there, raised up by God. . .for the benefit and the blessing of generations other than their own." Henny, my dear friend, is such a woman. God answered my prayer for a Christian friend in His usual style--doing "exceedingly abundantly above what I thought to ask"--and so it was not a friend I gained, but a couple--John and Henny. We first connected in the athletic world of BCS--and that's where we contracted what I used to call "bleacher back"! Jan was a close friend and teammate of our sons--and we traveled to many games together. Then Jan and Jon were off to college where they roomed together. As time went on--their older sisters, our daughters and Eve and Martha also became close friends. Henny and I joined Bible Study Fellowship here in Bradenton, and then Martha did. And so the interweavings of our two households continued.
I will remember Henny as first, a woman of faith. I always marveled at her because she just plain believed! A simple faith that was rock solid. Thus, once enrolled in an in-depth Bible study--she never un-enrolled. Just signed on year after year for around 26 years. She said her prayers--the daily ones--while on her treadmill. Well, God says to go into your closet to pray, and that is where her treadmill was. She has been a witnessing neighbor, a visitor to the home-bound, and a loving and faithful friend to so many. Above all, she cherished and prayed for her family.
How Henny loved this church! From time to time, and especially in recent years, John would begin to contemplate moving their church home closer to their Sarasota residence. I would look at Henny and smile--both to myself and to her. Because I knew that just wasn't going to happen. Because her heart--and of course, Jan and Rosie and family--were 20 miles to the north here at Bradenton Christian Reformed Church.
Remembering Henny is to recall her affections. She is on one fine cruise now--that we must know. And this heaven-class cruise line specializes in things mocha--pastries, cake, coffee. And there is much singing--the great hymns of the ages, because Henny loves hymns. Everything about them--the words, the music, and even their histories and the lives of their composers.
I can't fail to make mention of Henny's culinary skills. We were on an every other week basis, and she served up, as recently as two weeks ago--a very excellent pork roast with all the trimmings including her incomparable red cabbage. She worried that the pork was not tender enough--but it was, and it never failed to be a meal fit for a king. Recently it was not all that easy for her to make all those preparations, but she did it anyway.
Henny is now in glory. She did not experience death but just moved into what one writer has called "God's full world". God has been true to His promise that "everyone living and believing in Me shall never die". I know it is safe to put these words into Henny's mouth: "But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing You and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see You face to face." I love you Henny. See you later. . . Janice
Well, I've gone on longer than I should about this thought. But I wanted to record it... for me. To remember what is important when it comes to a legacy. Because I think I've got an understanding of it now.
