Invest in Others

From time to time I watch Joel Osteen. Each and everyday I receive his daily word in my email. Tonight before going to bed, I turned the channel to channel 35 and Joel Osteen was on. Joel Osteen gave a message that not only should I live by, but we must teach our children to live by. Joel pointed out how important it is to invest in others. I have been guilty of wanting to reach that point in my life where I can invest in others, thinking of "when I become this, I can do that." What I have ignored is the precious gifts that God has given to me. I am a computer wiz, my children are also. I never thought about this until today. I come from a generation of people who were given gifts, talents and wisdom, but not many took the time to pass it on.I do not know if it was because they were working so hard to provide that the idea of passing on a legacy was not important. Sometimes I think about my grandmothers, one of them was a seamstress and the other a baker.I often wonder, "if I had spent more time with my grandmother and not became so frustrated with threading a needle on a sewing machine, would I have gained a skill that I could have passed on, if I had stopped playing long enough to learn to make my great grandma's Keylime cake and homemade biscuits, my son would not always want biscuits from Popeye's.Not to say I can not cook, but the old fashion things that my grandma use to do have actually skipped a generation. If only I would have is a hard phrase to swallow. Yet, I never took the time to ask the question how? Now that I am older I want to make sure that the legacy that I leave my children will not only be wisdom, knowledge, the power of prayer, computer skills, writing etc., but I want my children to understand that all the talent in the world is nothing if it is not shared. I want them to know that they must give back, reach out and help others in order for their legacy to be known. It is by investing in others that our legacy is able to live on. Now I might not have learned to cook the biscuits or the keylime pie, but I learned how to make the best banana pudding in the world, fry chicken and even make a dress, but if I had the knowledge back then that I have now, I would have taken the investments of my grandparents in order for their legacy to live on.
Joel Osteen told the story of how as a little boy a little old lady, who was not rich and no relation to him at all, but she had the power of prayer in her life and decided to invest in him. This lady would always single him out and pray from him. She would pray favor on his life, and would ask God to give him wisdom and knowledge. Joel gives credit to this lady for teaching him how to pray. He stated, "Even though he often times said, "Not again," this lady invested in him." We never know the imprints that we are placing in another person's life. It can be the simple act of kindness. If we would only give not so much of our money, but our knowledge and our time. Or just reach back and pull someone else up, we can pass it on!
It is my prayer today that we search within to discover what we have to offer someone else, we realize that the gift of love, time, and passing on your knowledge is just one stepping stone into our life's legacy, yet it is worth the effort of passing it on. Like Pattie said, "When you've been blessed pass it on!
Be Blessed!