We are back in Kuwait and settling into our routines here. It's only been about two weeks since we arrived, but life is already full and hectic with the beginning of the school year. Chris will start at his university on Sunday, and my students came this past Tuesday. Out of 20 girls, I have one that won't talk, one that won't stop crying, and one that won't stay in her seat. I'd say that's pretty good for only having three days of school.
Each September, Chris and I make goals for the year. We don't necessarily write them down, but we spend a lot of time talking about areas that we want to focus on during the upcoming year. This process usually starts with small ideas carried over from the previous year, and we speak light-heartedly about things throughout the entire summer, but we get down to business when September comes.
I found it fitting to our discussions yesterday when our pastor at church spoke about leaving a "legacy." Usually, people think of a legacy as something that remains when a person dies- what he was known by, what she did for the community, etc. However, we don't have to be dead at all to leave a legacy, or a trail of memories and actions that we are known by. One example Pastor Phil gave was that of a slug; it leaves a slimy, grayish line everywhere that it goes, and a person can often identify it as uniquely being a slug trail if he sees it. In a similar way, we leave our own trails. Our legacy. Everywhere that we live or visit and with everyone we interact, we leave memories of how we spoke and what we spoke about, how we treated others, how we responded in certain situations, and what was most important to us. The question, "What kind of legacy do we want to have?" is a refreshing angle for Chris and I as we make our goals for the year. We want to be known as people who love God and have structured our lives because of his love for us.
The message at church is part of a new series, but was also given in light of today's memorial service for our beloved Senior Pastor in Kuwait. Pastor Jerry (PJ, as we call him) passed away this past July after a sudden and short battle with brain cancer. The church wanted to wait to have a celebration of his life and "promotion" until many of the people traveling over the summer returned to Kuwait. They are expecting an attendance of several thousand people, maybe 5,000 Muslims and Christians alike. It's obvious that he's left a great legacy of loving people in his 26 years as a pastor in Kuwait, and 72 years of life on this earth. My friends on the worship band for tonight's service have asked me to take some pictures, so if I don't fail, I'll post some tomorrow.
