Dear Reader:
Yesterday I got bogged down with memories as I was separating old photos and placing them in different zip-lock bags with each child’s name on it. I knew I would….that part of the de-cluttering takes the longest because it means the most.
Some pictures made me stop and wonder about the last time when…I think maybe God protects us by a temporary loss of memory when it comes to the moments in the past with loved ones that ceased without fanfare. They just stopped one day and we simply didn’t realize that would be the last time when.
When was the last night that I read a bedtime story to my children, as a group, or the last one at home? What day was the last day that I got all the children ready for the first day of school…nervous and excited? When was the last day we all lived under the same roof sharing life experiences together?
These precious moments passed and faded far away back into the recesses of our memories to make room for new memories. The first lesson we learn in de-cluttering is to never add anything without taking something else away.
I think this theory applies to our own personal memories and God’s tactics for helping us move on in life and not get bogged down as each new stage of life develops during each day of our journey. God wants us to learn from the past, but not to get stuck in it.
We must always remind ourselves that some event or incident, no matter how precious, is never the end…it just ceases in order to give us room for new possibilities to explore and fulfill our lives.
I hope you love this poem as much as I did when I found it yesterday. It is a keeper…one I will add to my (always keep) zip-lock bag of memoirs. Pictures that remind me of “The Last Time When”…
So until tomorrow…Fill in the names of your loved ones whose voices you would love to hear again…my list is long.
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
Our wonderful Jo Dufford added her wit to the “imaginary conversation in heaven between God and St. Francis”…adorable..like Jo.
Thanks for bringing a chuckle from deep inside and putting a smile on my face today. God knows everything, and I shouldn’t presume to know how God feels. But when I see the many things, humorous and otherwise, we do that make no sense, I can just picture Him shaking His head and saying, “I really thought ‘free will’ was a great gift.”
My response to Jo!
YOU are too funny! “Free Will” is a slippery slope….we know how God must feel when we sigh at our children and impatiently say, “Just forget it…I’ll do it myself!”
* I don’t think I will ever fly again and look down at the green rectangles of land below without remembering this funny “conversation.”
