What fingerprints will you leave?
It started with a fortune cookie.
“A part of us remains wherever we have been.”
Ah so, very wise…
I’d been mulling this thought over for a week.
And then my mother-in-law passed away last Sunday.
At the cemetery, instead of taking a flower and tossing on the casket, we were instructed to place our fingerprints on it symbolically expressing the imprint she made on our lives.
My son took this photo and shared his thoughts:
“Fingerprints are evidence that something, or someone, has been touched. Today we left Nana with a collage of our identities as a symbol that we’ll always be together. The irony is that every person was standing there smothered in her fingerprints from the many ways she had touched our lives.”
Then we received a sympathy card which says:
“We never lose the people we care about….
Their love leaves an indelible imprint on our memories.”
All this has me wondering about the imprint that I leave with the people I interact with. What part of me remains with those I love? What about people I barely know? When they see me, do they see Jesus in me?
Which brings me to one of my favorite songs. “Live Like That” by Sidewalk Prophets
And since they say it better than I can, here are my thoughts expressed by Sidewalk Prophets:
Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I’m only just a memory
When I’m home where my soul belongs.
Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of us
Was my worship more than just a song.
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You.
If love is who I am
Then this is where I’ll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back.
I want to live like that
I want to live like that.
Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change our heart
Do I live like Your love is true.
People pass
And even if they don’t know my name
Is there evidence that I’ve been changed
When they see me, do they see You.
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You.
If love is who I am
Then this is where I’ll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back.
I want to live like that
I want to live like that.
I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I’m longing for the world to know the glory of the King
I want to live like that. I want to make a difference by extending grace, loving well, forgiving, caring for those in need, living in integrity. I want the fingerprints I leave on people’s hearts to be those of Jesus. I want people to see Him when they see me.
What about you? What kind of fingerprints do you want to leave as your legacy?
Susan, today makes seven years since my mom died. The godly legacy she left still impacts my life today as if she was still here. I want to leave that kind of legacy that after I’m gone those I come in contact with remember me as someone who offered Christ’s love. Thanks for sharing and I’m sorry for your loss.
Susan, I am so sorry for your loss.
Yes, I too want to leave something behind, and I pray that people will remember Who I trusted in my life.