Those of us who have siblings, have sometimes felt like we are living in their shadow. The story of Miriam in the Bible is like that. She grew up and lived in the shadows of her brothers Moses and Aaron.

Little is recorded of Miriam’s life in the Bible, but the impact she had on the lives of her brothers and the example that she gave us is a legacy. We often see in Scripture that Miriam was in the background being a supportive role in many ways. We learned many things from Miriam’s life. She had the courage and the boldness to go up to Pharaoh’s daughter and asked if she would like her to find someone to nurse the baby. By doing that with such boldness Miriam was able to have her brother Moses around her until he was weaned. She showed courage and boldness in a young age by being able to do this.

Like myself, Miriam was a woman. She was like women are today. She woke up and did chores, cleaned out her home and later her tent. She most likely raised a family. She was a sister to her brothers. She took care of them and they took care of her. She got impatient with our lord. She was just like a woman today. Not many scriptures are about her but she is hovering in the background but not mentioned.

Miriam was introduced matter of factly in Bible. The story of Moses being hidden in the bull rushes it just simply states his sister stood afar off. She did not have the center stage, no lights beaming down on her she was there. She was faithful, loving and courageous. At the end of her life she is again mention matter of factly. The scripture says Miriam died there and she was buried. There is no mention of people mourning her her passing. I am certain her family and close friends mourned her passing but it’s not mentioned clearly in the Bible. Simply that she died and was buried. Yet, she is prominent. We learn about her in the bible. We read about her. She isn’t as big as Moses or Aaron. She isn’t like a Paul or Peter. She left a legacy of faith.

Her lesson is a simple one an individual as we all are. Each of us will leave our own legacy. One day we will be an ancestor. We will be from the past. We will be that faded memories from stories told. We may not be doing anything earth-chattering right now. We may never have done anything earth-shattering. Most likely those of us who are here or are reading my blog won’t be mentioned in history books. There will be no historical marker that said so and so lived here or slept here. We are just individuals who live our lives.

What we can learn from Miriam is love which she had for her brothers and for her family. Loyalty which she had toward her brothers it is shown as she went through the desert with them. Courage is something we learned from Miriam we saw that when she was first mentioned when she approached Pharaoh’s daughter hoping to protect her baby brother. Miriam was patient she praised God for victories, she led a worship service for the women after they crossed the Red Sea. She was like us also and taught us the consequences for backbiting complaining and gossiping. She was struck with leprosy. But the Lord healed her. So she also taught us about forgiveness.

Our Father in heaven has gifted us with different gifts. We each have something that we hold dear. Everyone can make the same meal and if we all serve the same thing like in a potluck setting, the same food would taste differently. Each dish each would be unique and different. That is what we are to the Lord we are each unique and different.

Every one of us will leave a legacy that others can learn from. What will your legacy be?