Your someone has died, and their life meant so very much to you. A flood of many thoughts with heartfelt feelings brush through your mind and you wonder, “How can I keep that irreplaceable life alive and not forgotten? Will my children and grandchildren ever know how meaningful that life was?”

Yes, you are thankful for the pictures and you do have your favorite memories. But there is one thing more. It seems to be a long lost art and almost forgotten, but can easily keep your loved one’s legacy alive by storytelling.

Let’s picture something. You have an occasion with all generations present. You have them sit around and lead in storytelling. The many good, sometimes sad, and funny stories come out. The days that used to be stories. The “How did Gram meet Grandpa?” stories. The “My Grandma and Grandpa lived through the Great Depression and they…” stories. I heard stories of my dad as an orphan in the CC Camps in the 1920s, and stories about the orphan train in our family.

The thing about stories is they have an amazing power. They are easily remembered and can be retold. They have the power to bring more stories out of others that have not been heard. They have the power to create questions that bring more stories as answers. As a Spiritual person it is good to know that Jesus used storytelling as teaching tools that are still being told to this day.

I can feel the scribes reading this, wanting to write all those amazing stories down and the next generation wanting to post and record with one of those new devices. All of these are awesome for the idea of leaving a legacy.

The most wonderful thing about storytelling is that it brings family closer together and  that your loved ones are remembered in the family legacy.

A priceless expression of love through a life lived well,

Chaplain Glory Bayer