11.20.2007

Musical Musing: Nichole Nordeman, “Legacy”

Nichole Nordeman, Legacy

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthy list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

Not well traveled, not well read,
not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead,
"Well Done" good and faithful one...

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy


OK, when I started working on these, I had in the back of my mind that I’d leave these old favorites for last while I worked on the new favorites from this CD. Alas, the not-so-random randomizer on my car’s CD player decided I needed to hear this twice last night, so perhaps there’s a reason for me to move it up and talk about this one sooner.

Humanity seems obsessed with the legacy we leave behind when we’re gone. For those who don’t believe in an eternal life after death, our legacy is all that remains after we’re gone. To some extent, that’s true… those who come after we’ve gone will only know us by the legacy we’ve left on this side of eternity. In an existential viewpoint, we are defined by our actions… what is outwardly visible becomes our legacy.

So, how do we leave something behind for others? What do we want our legacy to be? When people we’ve never met hear our names, what do we want them to think of us? Are we going to be a name on a school that the students within don’t even remember? (I went to C. Vernon Spratley Middle School, and I have to be honest, I have NO CLUE what the man did to get a school named for him!)

If we look at history, it would seem that the existentialists are right: we aren’t remembered for our intentions, only what we actually do. Our ideas go nowhere without us doing something with them, and our intentions are lost to all of time unless we act upon them, and even then, are judged by the results of that action. Judas may have had noble intentions, but all we have are the results of his action, and that is how he is judged.

Nichole talks about her legacy in this song. It’s nice, she says, to have recognition now, but recognition now is nothing compared to what people know of us later. Of what worth is recognition for skill today if what we do with our lives is completely worthless? What use is it to have your name known if it’s forgotten tomorrow, or if what you’re known for isn’t what you want to be remembered for (Names of examples omitted to protect the guilty). Nichole concludes that she wants to be remembered because she pointed to God Almighty. In fact, I think we could go so far as to say that she’d be willing to be forgotten so long as God is remembered because of her actions in life.

Once upon a time, when I still dreamt of my children, I promised myself that I would be content with whatever career they chose, so long as they did the best they could and they loved their God with everything they had. What more could a mother ask, except that her children gave their everything to serve the God of eternity? At the end of my life, nothing will matter to me except that I poured my life out in service of the God who poured His life out for me. I’m not interested in lengthy descriptions of my accomplishments, of everything I’ve ever written or said. I want a legacy that can be summed up this simply: “She loved.”

What will be your legacy?

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