I Want to be Remembered as ….

Don't Lose Hope22 Comments

When my kids were small, we used to really enjoy making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Tossing them, however, was another matter.

Often, we would have to scrape them off the frying pan. And occasionally we scraped them off the walls and floor. But most of the time, they made it on to our plates, and then we would cover them in chocolate and fruit … and all sorts of other delicious things.

Yes, Shrove Tuesday was a lot of fun.

I was vaguely aware that the day after that was something called Ash Wednesday. But, honestly, Ash Wednesday meant nothing to me.

And it’s only recently that I’ve heard the phrase: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The words associated with Ash Wednesday.

An interesting phrase. One that really made me think.

We tend to live our lives as if we’re never going to die. And the more we enjoy life, the harder it can be to contemplate the fact that one day our life will end.  

It’s not the kind of thing we really want to think about.

But knowing we will die can also help us to live well. It can help us each to think about the legacy we’ll leave. And that can be a really good thing.  

So maybe take some time today to stop and ask yourself:

“How do I want to be remembered?”  

22 thoughts on “I Want to be Remembered as ….”

  1. Having had the privilege of saying those words over and over again to congregation members, I can remember feeling surprised that something that initially sounded so medieval and negative was actually a huge relief. It’s a relief to admit we are only mortal. Only human. To lay down for a moment the constant battle to be more than we are.

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    • Wow, I was going to comment on the main post, but you said what I was thinking, Rebecca. “It is a relief to admit that we are only mortal. To lay down the constant battle to be more than we are.” We all have feet of clay, and that’s OK.

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      • Thanks for adding this to Rebecca’s comment David. That sense of self-acceptance, and being at peace with who you are and where you are in life really comes through in your posts and comments.
        “We all have feet of clay, and that’s OK” is not a message we hear often. Thanks for emphasizing that here. It’s an encouragement to me and, I hope, to others who read this post.

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    • Interesting. And interesting that you were surprised that you experienced a sense of relief to be mortal. Relief is not the word I would normally have associated with this. It’s wonderful to feel that way. I guess that’s the good news. Perhaps in the churches I’ve attended there has been more of an emphasis on “we should be more than we are.” More of an emphasis on why we need a Saviour. Thanks for sharing this.

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  9. Love this one too!! I think it’s especially important to normalize death for children. Maybe that’s because I am raising grieving children! In my mind though, let’s normalize death so we can live with a purpose. Love your site and the name!!

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