I was home chicken soup-ing my hanging-on cold and I decided to check out an online will creation site. Within moments I was updating lots of information, as the last one I did included an ‘unborn child’ of ‘unknown name’ who is turning 42 next week!
I have to say, that was a time for me to thank and acknowledge God for preserving me to the age I would no longer need to figure out who would raise my sons if I was gone. Until year 18 of the youngest was all I asked for, but I have already enjoyed their college years, marriages, children, homes and successful businesses they have built, so truly above and beyond my simple early requests!!
This is one very grateful Mom/grand mom here!
Beyond that, and the naming of an executor for what remains of the small (but certainly extravagant for me) provision that my Mom left when she passed five years ago, I have gratefully continued to work part time, even to my eighties. With that and the help of a small social security check I have been able to meet all my current expenses and I am hoping I will leave, mostly untouched, what she left me to further pass on to my children and grandchildren. I am praying God uses me up and takes me home quickly, so that I do not drain what is left after my usefulness date. Perhaps it will be enough for something that catches hold of their heart but is a stretch for current family finances…..like a musical instrument or art classes or help for a deposit on a home or condo. I would like it to be a way they may always remember how much I believed in them, loved them and admired the unique gifts God has given them to use.
Other than that, all the categories listed reminded me I literally have “no earthly goods” at this point in my life. Though I have owned six or seven in my lifetime, I no longer own a home. My paid off car will take me to the end of my own driving, but will not be worth handing on. I have no jewelry, and frankly I have never been great at anything but misplacing anything of value; and by the time I might have bought some for myself, my hands were much too arthritic to want to call attention to them!
So it was quite simple to complete my will, now that the main thing that previously caused me distress…. ‘will you raise my son if I die before he is on his own, and will you let him see his brother who will be with his father and step mother? And will you love him just as he is and encourage him to grow into the man God meant him to be?’…was no longer an issue. Unfortunately I believe that most difficult question for parents, to whom will they entrust the raising of their children should they die, can be the reason most parents never make a will; often the answer will bring up family with children of their own who may be already overloaded, or childless family or friends requiring our complete trust (in God) that they will instantly become good parents, or they may even be your own aged parents who may not be physically able to in the future. You come away from the whole experience realizing, faults aside, that you are indeed the very best parent for your children, having known and loved them unconditionally since birth and that no one else can possibly replace you, so you leave the moment determined to take much better care of yourself going forward so that you last! You also realize they are your single most precious ‘belongings’ and the only true legacy you will leave, even if they are only entrusted to your care for a very brief time.

It is for many reasons a good idea to review/make a will, as it not only causes you to face where you are at present but also to recount your many extravagant blessings over a lifetime; it is truly a blessing remembering what matters most in the rest of your one precious life, committing any current requests to God with thanksgiving, for He has already shown you how faithful He has been and how very dearly He loves you.