However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the LORD Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. (Acts 20:24)
As I looked out my kitchen window this week, I couldn’t help but enjoy the beauty of a single tree a neighbor had planted about a decade ago, smack-dab in the middle between her home and ours. Fall is in full effect in the Minnesota and the autumn colors on that tree have reached its glorious peak.
Over the years, I’ve looked at that tree countless times and never thought much of it – but this year, I couldn’t help but shed a few tears when I did. Just last month, Dee and I learned our former neighbor had passed away in March - she moved away a few years back, and sadly we lost touch. In the weeks since, I’ve been hard on myself – wishing I’d done a better job of maintaining contact and not missing her funeral.
But believe it or not, that tiny tree has changed things. Instead of thinking about failure and loss, I’m thinking about the legacy left behind. I know every time I look at those orange leaves in October, I’ll think back on the kind heart that planted that tree with a smile, not with regret.
That tree has also got me thinking of my own legacy and hoping that when all is said and done, people not only think about me with a smile, but as a person who helped bring them closer to Christ. If so, it was a race well run and mission completed.