What Kind Of Legacy Do You Want To Leave?

Early last week, my high school math teacher, Mrs. Carol Layne, passed away after a hard-fought battle with lung cancer.  I heard about her diagnosis for the first time about two and a half years ago, when my mom broke the news to me after hearing it from a family friend. It was absolutely heartbreaking to receive news like that, not just for me but for so many people who at some point or another walked through the halls of my school. 

Just a few weeks after Mrs. Layne was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, a Facebook group was created in order for people to receive updates about her progress and treatments. And while updates were definitely posted, the group became more of a landing page for people to post encouraging words, videos, and prayers for Mrs. Layne. For the two and a half years Mrs. Layne fought this horrible disease, posts would pour in constantly. Current students, fellow teachers, administrators, and students from years past took the time to say hi, share memories, and offer prayers for the beloved math teacher. But what each of these posts proved is that Mrs. Layne was so much more than just a math teacher. She was a strong woman of God who used her gifts and talents to lead, encourage, and impact everyone she came in contact with, especially when it came to her students. 

I had Mrs. Layne as my math teacher for three years. She taught me Algebra I, Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus. (And can I just say that math in college was a heck of a lot easier because of her!) To this day I still remember some of the material from those classes, like the “breaking out of jail” method or the quadratic formula song. But even more so I remember how Mrs. Layne interacted with me as a person. She really cared about her students and wanted to know what was going on in their lives. I remember how she would always ask how my basketball season was going. She’d ask what games we had coming up and how games past had turned out. I even remember her asking about how my mom was doing whenever she was having trouble with kidney stones. That’s just the kind of person Mrs. Layne was. She really cared, and not just about whether or not you understood trig functions. 

As I scroll through reading many of the posts in the facebook group, I am not surprised to see that my story is not unique. One person after the other has a story to tell of Mrs. Layne’s impact on their life. And that’s what has had me thinking over the past few days. 

If something were to happen to me, what would I want people to say about my life? How would I want to have impacted the people around me? What kind of legacy do I want to leave?

Unfortunately, I feel like we don’t think about these questions enough. It’s so easy to get wrapped up into the things on earth that demand so much of our attention. Whether it’s trying to get ahead in our career or checking things off our to-do list or buying all the things we want or scrolling through social media and comparing ourselves to the people in the pictures…are those the things you want to see when you look back on your life and think about how you spent your time? 

I don’t know about you, but that’s just not the way I want to be remembered. Because if you think about it, all of those things are self-focused. How can I climb the corporate ladder? How am I going to be able to get all of this done? How can I figure out a way to buy that car? How can I look like her? 

Don’t you see? All of those questions revolve around me. They put the focus and attention on me. They make me believe the lie that my life is all about me. But I refuse to believe that I was put on this earth to just focus on myself and what I want to do and where I want to go and what I want to obtain. Jesus didn’t live that way. Mrs. Layne didn’t live that way. And I don’t want to live that way either. 

Jesus’ entire life on earth was dedicated to ministering to other people and preparing the way for them to have a relationship with their Heavenly Father. He didn’t spend His time being selfish or self-focused, but rather He spent his days looking for ways to care for the people around Him. And if we are going to call ourselves followers of Christ, shouldn’t we have the same mentality about our own lives?

I think Mrs. Layne did an amazing job of emulating Jesus while she was on this earth. You could tell by the way she lived her life that she was making a conscious decision every single day to follow Jesus’ example by serving and caring for the people around her. She didn’t have to live that way. She could have taken the easier route. She could have been one of those teachers who just showed up, taught her lesson, and left. She didn’t have to put in the extra time and effort and energy the way she did. But the fact that she did is what has made her legacy so impactful, so long-lasting. And I think her’s is an example worth following. 

So, my question for you is this: what kind of legacy do you want to leave? If you were to die tomorrow, would you be okay with what people would say about you? Or is that something you would want to change? What do you want people to think of when they think of you after you’re gone? How do you want your impact on the lives of others to outlive you?

I promise if you will ask yourself these questions, the way you live your life will change. Things that once seemed so important, so necessary, will suddenly seem insignificant. You will begin to see your relationships, your calling, and your God-given purpose in a brand new light. I know that’s been the case for me, and I hope that will be the case for you too. Our lives are not our own. We are each a steward of the life God gave us, so why not use it to leave a legacy that points others to His greatness and His glory?

To Mrs. Layne - Thank you for setting such a wonderful example of what it looks like to live a life that glorifies the Lord. You were a light that shined so brightly, and there are so many people on this earth who will never be the same because of how that light touched them. You are dearly loved and greatly missed. And until we see you again, I hope you’re enjoying teaching everyone in heaven how to sing the quadratic formula song.