Only One Life: How A Woman’s Every Day Shapes An Eternal LegacySample

Stewarding Your “Only One Life” 

The divine gift of a single, fragile lifespan is all any of us have been granted. Rich and poor, great and small, woman and man, it doesn’t matter. One is all we get. How will you build yours? What will you do that will “outlive your life”?

The measure of influence and outcome is not up to us, but the everyday faithfulness is. Which is why, as we’ve illustrated through the lives of those we’ve highlighted, legacy is not just for people who find themselves in the bright lights. It is not just for the elite few. Rather it is a calling for all of us. Legacy is for those of simple faith who show up every day and make their daily journey one of courage, witness, rescue, generosity, compassion, boldness, prayer, tenacity, teaching, loyalty, wisdom, and faith. The point is, we get to choose our legacy. 

It’s so easy to look at social media, at the entertainment world, or even at those around us and assume that living a meaningful and impactful life is for everyone else. It is time for each of us to figure out the things only we can do to be a legacy-leaving, intentional influencer with the people whom God places in our path. 

As you contemplate how to step into your legacy, we suggest starting by thinking about the moments of your everyday life. Whatever you do, your day matters! Whether it’s changing diapers and cooking meals or preparing reports and sending emails, it matters. Our ordinary actions, after all, tell a story about our character, and our character shapes the world around us. As you weave acts of kindness and faith into the mundane, every action becomes eternal. 

We have only this one life. We have only a few short years, yet as we take the next step of faith, and the next and the next, we believe that God will multiply our days and shape an eternal legacy. So, women of God, together let’s be a generation of legacy-building leaders–wherever God calls us to go. A great adventure lies ahead! Let’s each spend our one life using our gifts and strengths in His service. The choice is yours: you can make this one life bold and beautiful, just as God created it to be. Because only what’s done for Christ will last. 

Adapted from Only One Life: How a Woman’s Every Day Shapes an Eternal Legacy by Jackie Green and Lauren Green McAfee with Bill High. Copyright © 2018. Reprinted with permission of Zondervan Publishing. All rights reserved.