inspirational story- leaving your legacy- a young woman leaves her legacy

Leaving a legacy is something everyone of us does. Each of us is a living presence. What we do with our lives right now has profound influence on everything and on everyone around us- especially those we are close to. Each of our stories will be different - but special and unique. Listen to that voice, that calling within you.. and leave your living presence, even after you are gone. That is a legacy that will last beyond wealth, fame, or perceived success…

This young mother's thoughts and life is an uplifting presence that is probably echoed in many lives around today…

"The young mother asked her guide about the path of life.

" Is the way long? " she inquired.

And her guide replied: " Yes. And the way is hard. But the end will be better than the beginning. "

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and basked with them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them and life was good, and the young mother said, " Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then night came, and storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and her children said, " Oh Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come. And the mother observed, " this is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary too, but she said to the children, " A little patience and we are there." so the children climbed and when they reached the top they said, " We could not have done it without you, Mother." And the mother, when she lay down that night, looked at the stars and said, " This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage, and today I have given them strength."

And the next day strange clouds which darkened the earth- clouds of war and hate and evil and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said, " Look up. Lift your eyes to the Light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, " This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old, and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was hard, they helped their mother, and when the way as rough, they lifted her, for she was light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road an golden gates flung wide.

And the mother said, " I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk along, and their children after them."

And they stood and watched her as she went on long and the gates closed after her. And they said: " We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence." "

Adapted from Temple Bailey .

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