Memories

A few weeks ago I received the news that Creative Memories, a scrap-booking company, was declaring bankruptcy and may no longer produce the wonderful albums and supplies I have used for years. I LOVE scrap-booking! It is one of my favorite hobbies. It brings out my creative bent, but it is for a deeper purpose that I scrapbook.

Memories. Some are good, some are not-so-good. Some are downright exhilarating, some still cause a knot in our stomachs. But all are of times through which we have loved, shed tears, laughed, been silent, never wanted to end, or maybe want forgotten. They are the minutes we have LIVED. And life is precious. Every moment is one to be thankful for.

Many times we don't realize the value of a moment until it has passed. In the hum of life, the days flow one into another. When I began scrap-booking, it simply was to have fun and get my pictures organized and into an album. As the years passed, my children began looking at the albums I had created saying, "Oh, I remember that," or "That was so much fun." It was then something began to stir in my heart. Memories....

My daughter drew our home.....

Our dog that died and left a hole in our hearts.....

My daughter's first garden and she grew an 80lb. pumpkin!

A first spelling test....

Memories are not meant to be worshiped, but to point to the One who is. Joshua 4:20-24 reads: "Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”  Jesus also told his disciples to carry on the practice of the Lord's Supper "in remembrance of me." God wants us to remember. He wants us to look back and see how He has guided us. To thank Him for His goodness. This gives us faith for the future.

Scrapbooks are just one way the memories and stories of life are preserved. I also have saved a few items that have meaning to me: my baby booties are bronzed and sitting on my shelf, my grandmother's teacups are in the cupboard, a poem my sister wrote for me graces a wall, and my husband's great-great grandmother's rocking chair has been refinished and sits by our bed. Pictures, words documented, special objects....they all carry a story. 

A story of the past and God's faithfulness.

I have some numbness on my face from brain surgery three years ago. I hope it never leaves. It reminds me of how God worked through a situation "more than I could have asked or imagined." It is my "stone" of remembrance. :)

I have learned the value of a memory....and to Whom to give the credit.


p.s. I do hope Creative Memories comes back....if not, I will still find a way to document memories. :)