Some of you may remember the actress and movie star Elizabeth Taylor. In my day she was the hottest thing in Hollywood—glamorous, mysterious, and very rich. She married eight times, twice to Richard Burton, an equally popular British actor.
Elizabeth Taylor died in March of this year at age 79. Today I saw in the news that Christie’s, the high end auction house, is putting up for bid a number of Ms. Taylor’s gowns, diamonds, and other collectibles that are sure to fetch the sellers millions of dollars.
As I thought about this it occurred to me: things last longer than their owners. The scarf mom used to wear; dad’s old saw; grandpa’s guitar; grandma’s favorite hot cocoa mug. The owners are gone but their treasures and trinkets remain, of no real value other than their link to the ones we loved—and still love.
I think the moral here, at least for me, is this: spend more time on that which has enduring value—my dear wife and eternal companion; my children, their spouses and their ever expanding brood of our grandchildren; my mother; my siblings and their families; my aunt.
There is a joke that carries a profound message. A rich man died. At his funeral one fellow whispered to his friend, “How much did he leave?” The friend responded, “All of it.”
Some day when my mortal journey is finished, I won’t have much of material things to leave although we have arranged our affairs so Melba will be able to live comfortably. But more important to me is another legacy—a legacy of faith in God, love of family, and dedication to our country—that I hope I have been able to pass on to my children and they in turn to their families.
Each of us is only about three generations away from being an unknown name on our descendants’ family tree. However, we can be more than that if we leave the right legacy. Let’s fill our journals, our home movies, our picture albums, our life histories, our blogs with thoughts, reflections and images of the things we value most—the things of real value: God—family—country.
