This week I’m a squatter. Not the illegal kind. I didn’t steal a space and claim it to be my own. But I am settling in and living in a space that doesn’t belong to me.
Yesterday, it felt like I was visiting. Today, it feels like home. All the idiosyncrasies are familiar - handleless doors, narrow stairs, and uneven ceilings. The home is old. Very old. Each board was thoughtfully placed for this home to stand. There are doors that lead to nowhere and doors that lead to creepy places, but wow, is there a story behind each door. Some are real stories, some imagined, and some are only the beginnings of a dream. A legacy dream.
Have you ever noticed that something wasn’t quite right? Maybe it needed to be fixed or changed or painted. It was inadequate in its current state, but could be valuable and beautiful. We do this all the time. When our walls are empty, we dream of art that would bring it to life? Do we see a broken tool or an old chair at a yard sale and immediately know how to fix it up and use it? When we lack knowledge, do we find an online course that upgrades our learning. As humans, we are masters at taking something rough and refining it.
That’s what our friends did with an entire old dilapidated house. And now, I’m squatting there. Every time I get into a space with this much character and age, I can’t help but think of the stories that go with it.
Someone learned to parent in this house. They watched their children grow and taught them right from wrong, at least I hope. A woman worked hard to scrub the floors and sweep the kitchen while a man stood outside chopping wood for the fire. History tells us that much. There was laughter and tears. Hard times and good times. That house was a part of someone’s legacy that slowly faded away. An untold family story. Until now.
My friends took someone else’s broken legacy and they are restoring it to make it their own. Physically, they are pouring in hard work and sweat. Emotionally, they face the extremes we all have felt when working hard and raising kids. Relationally, they are loving and being loved by their neighbors. And spiritually, they are making this house a place for rest and renewal. That’s their legacy dream. It’s what they want to give their kids and eventually their grandkids.
That’s the real story. And it reminds me of Joshua in the Bible.
Joshua carried on the legacy of Moses leading God’s people into the promised land. Along the way, generational reminders were set in place like this one.
As the priests with the ark of the covenant stepped into the Jordan River, God stopped the water, and the nation of Israel crossed over it.
And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” - Joshua 4:20-24
Ultimately Joshua’s legacy is a part of God’s story of redemption, but through God’s blessing he took someone else’s legacy and created his own. That’s what my friends have done. And just like Joshua, they are leaving a generational reminder of their legacy dream as they restore an old, neglected house.
We should have a legacy dream too. Let’s create one. What do we want our family to remember, share, and celebrate?
But the dream is only the beginning.
The kids and grandkids won’t understand the purposeful choices we have made about our legacy unless we tell them. We choose our legacy and what we pass down to the generations that come after us. But it isn’t always obvious.
Our friends purposefully chose to buy a run down old house in the beautiful mountains of Pennsylvania to create a place for family respite. This is the time to tell their children why it was important to them and show them how to love the outdoors and appreciate the beauty and complexity of nature.
Let’s not just have a legacy dream, let’s be intentional about that dream, and tell our kids and grandkids why we chose each part of our legacy to give them.
Searching for wisdom and asking for grace,
Jody Flurie
Jody Flurie is the Founder and Owner of Red Dirt Legacy Co. where family legacy stories are celebrated through each Little Legacy Film Series - a series of short videos that can be easily shared to keep children and grandparents connected by what matters most for each family.
Jody believes all kids, young and old, need to understand where they came from and why it matters. Everyday, she works hard to instill this in her family because it’s only through understanding who we are that we can be fully ourselves and make a true indelible mark on the world.
If you want the same thing that Jody wants for her family, visit reddirtlegacyco.com to find out how your family can celebrate the wisdom, love, and legacy of an earlier generation. If we don’t step up to bring hope to our families, who will?