Psalm 23 Day Nine: Legacy
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
Day 9:
Have you ever stepped into a job or role where the previous person had managed things well? You were left dealing with happy customers, organized files and clear direction?
Or have you experienced the opposite where the person before you derailed and left an administrative nightmare, angry clients and a ton of mess that needed cleaning up before you could even take on the job.
I have had the privilege and discouragement of both. In contrast when someone before you is well loved, it can make stepping into their shoes a daunting task. But standing on the shoulders of someone who has built a great foundation is so much better than playing catch up and clean up.
Our verse today talks about the things we leave behind:
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6
The importance of your healing work cannot be measured.
When sheep are managed well they can improve the pasture lands they pass through. They eat invasive weeds, break up hard ground with their tiny hooves and they leave behind fertilizer that enriches the soil for future generations of plants.
One study on sheep grazing summarized it like this: “A well-managed pasture in space and time can provide wider biodiversity, nutrients distribution in the soil, and soil quality improvement.”1
The connection between this truth and your own healing from trauma is profound.
Trauma leaves a wake of things behind. Every life leaves something behind. Sometimes it is pain. Sometimes it is healing. Often it is both. We often think of the generational struggles in families or the damage unhealed trauma does to present relationships. I often witness how unhealed childhood trauma spills out and becomes someone else’s adult trauma.
We have an opportunity – and maybe even a calling – to heal what has been handed to us, to mend what has happened to us and to pass on blessing instead of pain.
"Unhealed childhood trauma spills out and becomes someone else's adult trauma."
Mark Wolynn in his book “It Didn’t Start with You” comments, “ “The traumas we inherit or experience firsthand can not only create a legacy of distress, but also forge a legacy of strength and resilience that can be felt for generations to come.”
Yes, the work you are doing will not only change your life, it can affect generations to come.
My maternal grandparents are beautiful examples of how you can turn things around when you are born into struggle.
My grandpa was called a “bastard child,” born not of love but of abuse. My grandma’s mom died suddenly when she was young. Her dad was a sea captain and away most of the time so she was shuffled between neglectful and even abusive caregivers. Her school records say she was a “runner”, missing many days of school.
These two married and ran together from the East Coast of Canada to a quiet, tiny village on the prairies. Neither of them spoke of where they came from. It was only as future generations dug into the archives that a painful picture of their past came to light.
Together, these two bought a piece of land with a teeny house, scraped out an existence from the soil as well as producing 10 children! Although not perfect, these two never reenacted the abuse they grew up with.
My aunt told us that her dad would often pull one of the kids out of school to spend the day enjoying their company as he did his work on the farm.
He, who was stigmatized and abused left a legacy of love.
When we attend to our healing, trauma doesn't get the last word.
The importance of your healing work cannot be measured. Sometimes healing lookis accepting you cannot change what was handed to you. Bout the work you do can change what you hand to those who are in close proximity to you. You are building and contributing in some way to your family legacy and to the strength of your community.
It is important work.
Keep at it. Gently. Day by day. Choosing to follow. Resting. Healing. Feeding even when things are tense. Passing on to the world around you the grace, joy, love and peace that you allow to flow into your world.
Friend, the impact can’t be measured.
You are building and contributing in some way to your family legacy and to the strength of your community.
- How has other people’s trauma affected you – either for the good or bad.
- What was handed down to you that you want to carry forward? What do you want to end with you?
- Who has left goodness and love in their wake in your life? How has their legacy shaped you?
- What do you hope is said about you when the final words about your life are written?
- What is one small step you can take today to step into that?
Prayer:
Good Shepherd, thank you that trauma doesn’t get the last word.
That no matter what has happened You are present to heal and restore.
Show me today what my next step is and give me the courage to take it.
May those that follow after be blessed by the goodness and love that flow from my life.
Amen
