...Memories are built into a house. Maybe it’s the hole from a nail where a picture hung, the color of a room, that stain on the carpet where the accident from the pen left it’s mark, to the inch marks on a wall where we would measure our children as they grew up around us. Memories, a little like that old suit hanging in our closet. At some point that was your favorite suit, and I’ll guess you thought you looked pretty fine in that suit. Then one day it got moved to a storage type closet where it only got worn once in a while, till you stopped wearing it completely.
Some memories are cherished, while others are destructive. Maybe it’s time to let go of that old suit, let someone else have something nice to wear, and in the process make some room for new memories.
If the walls of your house could speak, what would they say? Newly wed, young family, empty nester. There was laughter, singing, acceptances, good dinners, and direction. There was a holding comfort, a willingness to let go, and a concern for the family living there. As a parent I sometimes think it’s too bad the little ones have to grow up. I remember a time not too long ago my son would run to greet me at the front door, with big hug and a smile. A memory I hold very close.
Have you ever felt at peace with the Father of the Universe? Could you try to imagine what it would be like to run to Him, and have Him wrap His arms around you? If we could learn to hear Him, if we could learn to see Him, we would learn to feel His love.
Sometimes we hear people before we see them. We hear a voice in the distance calling to us, and as the figure in the distance comes closer, we recognize them. I believe that there is a voice, deep with in us... it’s calling. It’s a voice that was there when we were in our mother’s womb. It’s calling “Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest for your soul.” Do you ever feel that your mature Christian walk, whatever that is, has drawn you away from the Fathers love? As a father, I miss the times my son would run to greet me, so I could wrap my arms around him. We all need to grow and mature, and as we do, let us not forget that the Father of the universe longs to wrap his arms around us.
Sometimes a thought can almost feel like a voice telling you something. I don’t want you to think that I am losing it, but this next part is true. Later that same night, I woke up around 2:30 a.m. As I walked past the closet where my wedding suit hung, this thought came to me. I am not going to call it a voice, but it was as if I could hear “ What about me?” That suit has been hanging in my closet for 34 years. I know that I will never be able to wear it again, so do I need to give it away, and let someone else have something nice to wear, or just let it hang in my closet. We all have memories, stories, a song, a dream, something that ignites your heart, your passion. As I sit here thinking, where would we be if people didn’t share their talents and gifts with each one of us? What kind of house would you be living in, if someone didn’t build it? What kind of education would you have if someone didn’t teach you, or how would we be entertained if someone didn’t share their talent and gift with us? ‘Note To God’ sung by Charice, on ‘You-Tube Live’ … look it up and be moved.
You could almost say, memories are like a self-directed savings account, that you draw on when you’re feeling blue. They’re one of those assets in you financial portfolio that appreciate in value, more than gold, stocks or bonds. There are memories I hold very close to my heart, that no amount of money could buy, or would I trade on the stock market. Memories are your one asset that appreciates over time, and the longer you have them the more valuable to you they become.
I want to say we all have days that get us down. Call them cold days, rainy, damp days or days where life seems to take it’s toll on you. But I am almost afraid to categorize people, so I’ll just say somedays for myself I can go to my account, and make a withdrawal, and be thankful when God was faithful, remember my Mom, her laughter, her smile, her love, or the times I held our babies in my arms, and held their head so close to my shoulder. Opportunities come, and go. All we can do is make the most of them. Remember that old suit? It did come out of the closet, and off the hanger. As I look at a young man wearing it, I reflect back to memories of the day I wore it, the day I became a husband, then a dad, then a papa, and the life I had with my family. Colossians 3:14. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
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