“FINAL” FINAL?

One of the many books I've written and published is *THIS IS YOUR LIFE—WRITE IT! Leave Legacy Footprints. I based it on my workshop teaching on that topic at Writers' Conferences.

I put my fingers to the computer keyboard to practice what I preached by writing *CZECHING MY ROOTS: A Heritage Saga and Autobiography. I was only 77 when I wrote all 450 pages of it and thought it was possibly my “final” word on my life since I had pretty well “been there and done that” throughout my long life.

However, God has had more generous surprises in store. So I kept living and writing and published more than a half dozen more books, most of which were also autobiographical. They include my books on trying to age joyfully, helping other widows, and my LAND OF MORE spiritual journey Trilogy, with at least three more manuscripts in process. I thought each one might be the “final” final—but it wasn't! It seemed that there were sequels to sequels of sequels sort of open end because life kept rolling on and I wanted to be a good steward of God's blessings. I write this in my 91^st year!

It has been a joy to encourage and assist friends in writing their memoirs and I have seen them fulfill their dream of being successfully published. The most recent was editorial help I gave a childhood friend my age who kept sending me one version of her manuscript after another claiming, “Now this version is really my “final” final!” But it wasn't—she followed with more “finals” because she had more things to say, more personal and family events were still happening, and God is continuing to work in and through her life. Would you believe? Her legacy book has still not gone to press at this writing. She is still living it!

What's to learn from all of this? God is eternal and continually moving in our lives, working on conforming His children to the image of His Son, and working through us to touch the lives of others. We are in process. Our times are in His hands. We are not completed, not finished, until we have drawn our last breath. And He doesn't tell us our expiration date in advance. 

When we have finished our pilgrimage on earth, we will continue with eternal life. We will be accountable to God for who we have become and what we have done while living in our "earth suits." We are given eternal life by the grace of God through Jesus Christ and not by any merit or works of our own. However, our works follow us to Heaven and we will be rewarded there—exactly how, we don't know—but that's God's idea, not ours.

Apparently we will also be rewarded through the legacy we leave behind, whether written or simply lived. It will help those who follow us if we do write something and leave behind a family history and a witness to our faith. Perhaps I have written so prolifically and with such urgency because my family members didn't leave anything written, and I so desperately wished they had.

Meanwhile, I keep writing. The bottom line is, I never know if I am writing the “final” final. And neither do you!

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*These books are currently available to purchase through Leona. Other titles are also listed and reviewed and available for order at her web site www.goldenmorning.com.