In early March we lost my beautiful mother in law Lyn. It has been a difficult month in our family. It has been full of sadness, but also celebration and deep reflection. We are incredibly blessed by the legacy she leaves and the life that she lived.

My husband and I were talking about his Mum and the impact she had on us. I mentioned to him that I had never heard her gossip, never heard a bad word about anyone from her. My daughter and I were discussing her impact, and the same comments came up. As people shared their reflections of Mum, there was a consistency to the memories about her life.

I have thought about this many times in the weeks since. At no point was anyone saying she was a perfect person, she wasn’t – none of us are. To be kind, to be loving, to have people recognise that you don’t get drawn into gossip – that’s an incredible legacy to leave. To be remembered for how well you loved others is something to aspire to.

There are many verses in the bible about the tongue, from the power of the tongue to the damage that it can do, to the blessing that positive words leave. The last few weeks have shown me that a legacy of kindness is a remarkable one to leave. I want the way I love others to be what people notice about me. Imagine if the lasting impact we leave in this world is the the words of life that we speak. Stuff doesn’t matter, things don’t last, but a legacy of kindness can impact for generations.