LEGACY

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES

Earlier today, I found myself thinking about someone who has been on my mind for the past year yet again. 

I never met my great-grandfather, Robert, but he holds a special place in my heart. A World War II veteran and eastern Kentucky coalminer, he embodied so many of the qualities we value in our mountains. 

He shaped my grandfather into the man he is, and my grandfather helped shape me into the man I am. He knew that democracy mattered and that goodness must always prevail. 

As I think about his legacy, I am reminded of Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

That inheritance is not just money or land. It is the lessons he passed down, the love he showed, and the way he lived his life. My great-grandfather Robert may have died in 1980, but his legacy is still here. 

His legacy is in the choices I make, in the way I treat people, in the values I hold onto even when the world pushes against them. He worked hard in the coal mines of eastern Kentucky, doing what he had to do to provide. His body carried the weight of that labor, but his spirit stayed strong. 

He knew what mattered: family, fairness, standing up for what is right. He knew that democracy only works when people fight to keep it alive every day.

As a Christian, I see his life as proof of what faith should be. The Bible tells us in Micah 6:8 to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. That is precisely what he did. 

He stood with his family, his fellow miners, and anyone who needed help. He did not have great wealth, but what he left behind was worth more than money: his integrity, his kindness, and his belief in something bigger than himself.

I wonder what he would think about the world today. He would see that working people still struggle, that those in power still take more than their fair share, and that some people would rather divide us than bring us together. 

But I know he would not back down. He would stand with those still fighting for something better, for a future where fairness and decency win out.

A good man’s inheritance does not stop with his grandchildren. It keeps going, reaching out into the world, shaping lives long after he is gone. My great-grandfather’s story is a part of me. 

His faith, strength, and quiet acts of courage live on. I hope to honor him, not just in words but in how I live, how I treat others, and  how I keep pushing for a world that is just a little kinder, a little fairer, and a little closer to the one God calls us to build.

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