How Will You Be Remembered?

Larry Mancini

               “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing.”  (Proverbs 10:7)

Outside my office at home I can see our Mimosa Tree in full bloom. Its pink and white fuzzy-like blossoms give off a beautiful fragrance. A few years ago, about this time of the year, a visitor asked me, "What is that beautiful odor filling the air? Is it that tree?" "Yes," I replied. How the tree got there is a story in itself. I planted it 17 years ago in memory of my grandmother, Nana, who had just gone to be with the Lord. Nana was a letter writer. I still have in my briefcase the last letter she wrote to me. She encouraged people much like the apostles Paul, Peter and John did the churches of the first century. For years after she died people told me about the letters they had received from her. They remembered her for her love for Jesus, for her church, and the downtrodden. I remember her for her love for me and for that beautiful tree outside my home. Whenever I look at the tree, I think of her and am blessed by the memory of her.

If you are living for Jesus, I am sure of one thing: after you are gone, you will continue to be a blessing to those who recall your life, probably beyond anything you can imagine—just like it was for Nana. Your works will follow you!  When that visitor asked me, "What is that beautiful odor filling the air? Is it that tree?" I should have responded, "It is the fragrance of the memory of a life lived for the Lord."

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice

of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His Name.” (Hebrew 13.15)

Lord, let me live for your glory. Let me live for the good of others. When I go to be with you, I pray that when people remember my life, their thoughts will turn to you and my love for you. Amen!