More on Legacy

The last two posts were prompted by a conversation I had with a cousin a few days ago.
About four years ago, I started two family websites, one for my cousins on my mother's side and one for the cousins on my father's side. My aim was twofold. I wanted to re-connect and I wanted to somehow determine what kind of a legacy my grandparents left for each of them, how they perceived it and how it has impacted their lives and their family's lives today. I have only been minimally successful on either count, but it has certainly not been a futile exercise. My cousin's observations were a bit disheartening because he, in his own way, has been searching out the same thing. His conclusions do not thrill me, but perhaps his definitions are not my definitions.
My grandparents on both sides of my family were Christians in the true sense of the word, but they worked it out a little differently in each of their lives. Back then, these kinds of things were more caught than taught. The teaching part was up to the Sunday School and the Church. But the living out in their lives, of their faith, could not leave much doubt as to where they stood and what their intentions were. I know what I want for my family both now and for when I am gone. The only time we can influence the direction is while we are alive, but then again, maybe not. The memory of who we were and how we touched those around us can live on after us. And that is our legacy.