3 Ways to Leave a Legacy

Life is all about stories. It’s the stories that bring us together, enhance our lives, and leave lasting impressions. Sure, the objects we pass from one generation to another mean a lot, but really, it’s the stories connected to those objects that give them value. You don’t need anything expensive. Just something meaningful.

So here’s three ways that you can leave a legacy for those you love. Friends, family, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, honorary nieces and nephews that hold places in your heart.

1. Find an object with a good story and give it to someone else. When I asked on FaceBook about family heirlooms, I got some pretty amazing pictures and stories. Family Bibles from the 1700s. Jewelry for special occasions. Furniture brought over on Colonial ships from other countries. For me, one of the objects passed to us is my great-grandmother’s sewing machine. My great-great-grandmother gave this machine to my great-grandmother in 1901 as a wedding gift. It was passed down to my mother, and will eventually be gifted to me. What objects do you have that hold special meaning? Be sure to write down the story attached to the object.

• Take lots of pictures. That’s kind of a given, right? We carry cameras in our pockets these days. But something I’ve discovered we often forget is to label those photographs. I have pictures of people handed down from my great-grandmother and I have no idea who they are. I often wonder if my decedents will know who the people are in my own pictures.

• Teach what you love. This one is probably the most powerful. Sharing something you love with someone else passes that love down to them. Creating treasured memories creates a legacy of love and laughter. Create your own traditions. Blaze new trails. Those last the longest of all.

My grandmother taught me to cook. Every year we made Christmas candy. It’s a tradition I’ve passed down to my children as well.

You don’t need old family objects or generations old stories. You can start a legacy of your own. Right now. Today. Share what means something to you with someone else, and maybe generations from now what you left behind will be a treasured legacy.

In The Cedar Key, Casey is searching for family. She inherits all of her biological grandmother’s treasures, but what she really wants is the stories that go with them. Share your stories with those you love and pass down a legacy of love.

What about you? Do you have a treasured object passed down to you with a cool story? Do you have something you love you could pass to someone else? Tell us about it and you’ll be entered to win a prize pack from Stephenia H. McGee that includes:

1 ebook

The Cedar Key recipe booklet

The Cedar Key coloring sheet

Bible verse printables

About the Book:

Could the key to Casey’s future be hidden in someone else’s past?

Casey Adams unexpectedly inherits an old Victorian house full of other people’s memories. Stuck in a quirky little Mississippi town, Casey’s hope for a fresh start died as soon she had to lay the grandmother she’d just met to rest.

But Grandma Ida carried secrets beyond the grave.

Before her death Ida carefully planned a trail of clues to help Casey unlock the Macintyre family secrets and finally explain why the family abandoned her. But each of Ida’s letters will only come from Casey’s handsome—and often frustrating—new neighbor. As Casey pieces together the stories behind the objects filling her grandmother’s house, she embarks on a heart-stirring journey that rattles her foundations, ignites her faith, and leads her to a startling discovery that will reshape her future. But only if she can face the lies that have been slowly tearing her apart.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Cedar-Key-Small-Southern-Contemporary-ebook/dp/B08F4M9T6T

About the Author:

Best-selling author of Christian novels, Stephenia H. McGee writes stories of faith, hope, and healing set in the Deep South. When she’s not twirling around in hoop skirts, reading, or sipping sweet tea on the front porch, she’s a homeschool mom of two boys, writer, dreamer, and husband spoiler. Visit her at http://www.StepheniaMcGee.com for books and updates.