From Me to You

I know a young woman and her husband who spent a year living with her parents before starting grad school. The young couple loved watching things grow. However, they were in the middle of the desert—not exactly prime gardening land. One of the few plants they managed to cultivate was a cluster of native poppies. Their hearts were happy when a few orange blossoms unfolded under the early summer sun. It was something beautiful, even if it was something small. That fall, the woman and her husband moved away. Winter came, and then spring arrived. When the woman’s parents started getting their backyard ready for gardening, they noticed half a dozen plants growing. They were poppies! The seeds from the original small flowers had scattered and grown. Before too long, a row of cheerful orange flowers lined the porch area, glistening smooth and bright against the desert sky. Even though the young woman and her husband had moved away, what they had left behind had multiplied into an eve...

Did you know that Charles Dickens—that's right, the guy who wrote "A Christmas Carol"—wrote a book about the life of Jesus? And the best part is that he wrote it for his kids! The handwritten manuscript was a private family treasure for many years, until the children decided to share it with the world in 1934. It was the last work of Dickens to be published. I have a tradition of reading the short book each Easter. As a Christian, I appreciate the overview it gives of the life of Jesus Christ. But most of all, it's a good reminder to me that each of us—whether we have "children of our own" or not—have the opportunity to create something meaningful to leave the next generation. Whether that ''thing" is a tangible item, or a teaching, or an influence, it has the potential to continue shaping, strengthening, and empowering our children long after we've left. Every day gives us another chance to create—through words, artwork, letters, v...