My husband and I enjoy taking long road trips together—in part, because it takes us away from our stockpile of obligations at home and in part because it gives us space and time for endless conversations. On one such road trip a few years back, we found ourselves asking one another what kind of legacy we would like to leave behind. Of course, a true legacy is made up of consistent actions and attitudes over the period of a lifetime. But on this occasion, we were trying to define what we hoped our legacy might one day be and put that goal into a few, simple words. What we landed on was this—Firm in faith. Abundant in love. It was simple, all right. But those two short phrases seemed to capture the things we had been working towards our whole lives—holding fast and firm to our faith in Jesus and loving others with generosity. If our lives could be summed up in those two truths, we will have run a good race.
“These words would hang in our living room as a visible reminder of the hope in our hearts and the calling on our lives.”
Fast forward now to our recent living room remodel and a freshly-painted wall that I wanted to create a piece of art for. We had settled on making a large wood structure to coordinate with the new wood floors we had just labored to install. The wall piece would be made of wood slats, finished in a natural stain. The question now was what to put on it? Originally I had thought I would paint a single tree branch across the piece to echo the woods that surround our home. But I also have this love of words and that compelled me to ponder the possibility of making it a literal statement piece. It didn't take long before I remembered our road trip conversation and the right words came to me. Firm in faith. Abundant in love. These words would hang in our living room as a visible reminder of the hope in our hearts and the calling on our lives.
Today, I spend time with this wood, burning those words by hand into the oak. Smoke swirls up from the hot iron, leaving a smell of campfire in my hair. This is a burnt offering of worship as I work slowly and precisely, blowing away tiny specks of ash from the edges of the letters. In the quiet, I sear the words into a deep, black char. A covenant-like permanence is being shaped and formed as I progress.
It won’t be long and our living room will bear the words that we aspire to live out as we continue our journey of faith. May those words encourage us when we are weary and admonish us when we are tempted to compromise or become selfish. May they hold us accountable day by day each time we pass by them. May they become engraved in our character just as they have been seared lastingly into the beauty of this wood.
“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” - Philippians 3:14