I just couldn't bring myself to post a blog today with some crafty treasure or a favorite recipe.  It just feels wrong for this Make it Monday.  I, like so many of you, cannot grasp the enormity of the losses from last Friday in Newtown, Connecticut.  I cannot grasp the depth of the pain.  As the sweet faces scroll through my FB news feed, it just feels like too much.  

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of attending an incredible Christmas concert.  The Carols and Candlelight service was like a balm for my raw soul.  And, then the children's choir came to join in the singing.  I looked at my 8-year-old daughter sitting next to me, completely enthralled with a group of her peers singing so beautifully.   I looked back up to the choir, girls in sparkly dresses and curls.  Boys whose mothers forced them to slick their hair back and put on something nicer than their favorite t-shirt.

Then, it hit me.  That entire choir.  19 of them.  And, my stomach lurched.  I thought of a new heavenly children's choir, and my soul ached for the empty space that's left in the homes of their families.  In the hearts of their parents and siblings and aunts and uncles.  

As the stories unfold, I was struck by the details of how Vicky Soto hid her classroom of children and literally gave her life in order to save her children.  What a legacy.  She saved them, each and every one, by giving her own life.

Just as our Savior did.  When he left his heavenly throne to come down to earth, wrapped in our fragile flesh.  Because ultimately, he was going to lay down his life to save us.

My mind is whirling with the juxtaposition of the depravity of man and the evil that can lurk in a heart.  Such a contrast to the great love and grace of one who would give their very breath to rescue others.   The enormous loss of precious loved ones, against the hopeful backdrop of the gain of the greatest gift sent to humanity.  All highlighted during this Christmas season.

These deep thoughts have landed me on this Make it Monday with a monumental challenge for what you need to create.  What you must create.  This is not an option, bloggy friends.

Here you go.  Make a legacy.  We cannot change our heritage.  But, we can change our legacy.  Leave a mark on this world, our temporary home, so that when we are gone, something remains.  

Furthermore, here's the best way to leave not just a legacy, but an eternal one.  My pastor recently mentioned in a sermon that both the Word of God and people are eternal.

You want to make an incredibly wise investment of your time, talents, and money? You want to make a difference?  You want to live well--in fact, your best life?  You want to leave the world a better place than you found it?  Invest in the eternal.  Invest in His Word. Take time to read His promises.  Hide it in your heart.  Stand on it's words.  Pray it back--for yourself and for others.  And, invest in people.  What a legacy you shall thus leave... a legacy everlasting.  

A darling woman at our church recently died.  She was the sweetest of women, investing her retirement years in the children in our church by serving faithfully in child care.  I can just hear her Cajun accent as she would fawn over my baby girl's long hair or sweet spirit.  Indeed, Miss Nell left an eternal legacy.  By simply showing love and giving time to people.  And, I think, somehow, as I picture her dancing with Jesus now on golden streets, I think she has no regrets.  I don't think she wishes she'd had more time on earth for Facebook.  Or gaining wealth.  Or debating topics heatedly in order to prove her point.

Indeed, the teachers at Sandy Hook have left a legacy.  They poured themselves out, some unto death, in order to invest in people.  Yet, here I all too often sit, unwilling to disconnect from technology or to say no to a busy schedule.

Shameful.  That I might learn from the legacy of Sandy Hook.  Time is precious and not guaranteed.  Children are a gift from God.  Even during the rough pre-teen and teen years.  Nothing is more important than the treasure of my family.  Not one more extracurricular activity or television show.  Nothing.  I will never regret investing in my children and husband and friends and family.  I will never spend my time more wisely than in the Word.  

Legacy.  That's what is left for too many families in Newton, Connecticut.  Nothing but the legacy of their loved ones.  The legacy of memories made together.  Of time together.  Of the talents and laughter and spirit of those who are gone.  I have a feeling the legacy of those 26 will have a far wider impact than they could have ever imagined.  May a nation rise up.  And honor the Sandy Hook legacy by creating an eternal legacy.