As I approached the age of 50, I felt a sense of unrest. I began to feel, I suppose, an uneasiness about whether I had accomplished or fulfilled my ultimate purpose for being on the Earth.

I was being plagued by a strong thirst for significance and a desire to make a difference, but not just any difference - a lasting difference. It was not retirement I was thinking about, though that is understandable coming up to the big five-O! I knew it was not a mid-life crisis. I believe, wholeheartedly, God created each of us with a specific assignment, and I have taught the same for years. However, this yearning was more than a need for seeing a goal accomplished or starting a new endeavor. This unrest was tugging at my very soul!

No matter what else I pursued, studied, or spent time on, lingering just below a conscious thought was this sense, “there is more”. Would there be a change in the Earth for better because I am present in this world? A moment of clarity came when my eyes were opened to a verse I have read at least 100 times before, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his father’s…” Acts 13:36

This is when the voice of God thundered in my head, “What you are to accomplish, I want it to outlast your generation!”

But what was I to do? What would it look like? And how would I know it was the right thing that would last? The answer came like a freight train one day as I read, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

That word Justice made every particle of my being awaken. I had no idea what it meant or what it would entail, but I was sure it was what the Lord would require of me for a lasting impact - a legacy if you will.