I was watching an episode of my favorite TV show American Pickers and I saw an exchange that got me thinking. A lady opened a storage area that she had not been in for years. Her, Mike and Frank were looking through all the piles of stuff inside and they found a picture of her great-grandfather. She said she had never seen a picture of him before and was greatly pleased at the finding. They held the picture up for the camera and it was a picture of him sitting at the head of the table in a board room of his business. She made a comment about it being the only picture she knew existed of her great-grandfather.

I couple this experience with a comment my wife made last night. We were lying together in our living room and she asked the boys to take a picture of us since so few pictures of us together exist. She was right, if you flip through our photo album there are very few pictures of either of us and especially together. The pictures of me usually include a large fish or one of the animals I have hunted down and shot through the years.

These two experiences have me thinking about a single question, “What pictures would I want my great-grandchildren to find of me in the future?” If only a couple of pictures of me are in existence, what would I want future generations to learn about me through those pictures. I have come up with a short list of pictures I want to be found in:

1. A picture of me serving the Lord. I would like my great-grandchildren to see that I was a preacher. I would especially like them to see me serving outside of the pulpit. Maybe that is leading a small group, visiting a member, or just helping clean up. I want future generations to know that I served the Lord to the best of my ability. This was the biggest defining characteristic in my life.

2. A picture of me with my wife. I want future generations to know that I was married and I loved the woman I married. They need to know that it was not easy for either of us to stay together but we stuck it out and fell more in love through the years.

3. A picture of me with my children. I hope my relatives know that I loved my family. While I was a preacher I did not neglect my family but loved them the best I could love them. Maybe this would be a picture of me playing with them or standing with them after a game or just sitting on the couch together.

4. A picture of me with my parents. My parents have been the single biggest influence in my life and I want other people to know that they were the ones who molded and shaped me. I love them and hope their quiet influence is not lost with the years.

5. A picture of me genuinely smiling. My life has been greatly blessed in every way. I have a great Church, incredible parents, a beautiful wife and wonderful children. I have activities I enjoy and have no real reason to complain. I want others to know that I have had a great life and God was the source of all that I have been given.

This is a short list but I am happy with it. If I die and only these 5 pictures of my life existed, that would be enough. It would communicate who I am and what my life is all about.

What pictures do you have of yourself? What pictures do you want of yourself?

Maybe today could be the day to take a new picture of what really matters to you.