Navigating Memory

As we navigate our memory into the days which are behind us, we find ourselves in the midst of once lived moments.  Some of them we might wish we had forgotten, but so many more warm our hearts as they are brought to mind.  Of course, the real treasures in that storehouse where memories are kept are not the memories of sunsets, but the memories we have of people who have shared the journey through the year.  Some of the faces remembered have left this life for the One prepared for them and others still linger with us as we move toward the time of joining those who are gone.    

It it no wonder that the written Word is so full of names and the stories that go with those names for such is how each of us have experienced life.  The story of our days is intertwined with the names from the past.  Some had such shaping power that their influence was written upon our spirit like indelible ink.  Others touched us briefly, but in an unforgettable way.  And when we think of the places we have lived, or to which we have gone, it is likely that those places are remembered as places shared with someone whose life was important to the living of our own.   

The Scripture is full of admonitions to remember.  What is in our past, and who is in our past, were put there for a reason.  In these older years I have become more convinced than ever that there are no coincidences in life.  Instead, it is filled with the unfolding plan of God.  It has been a plan not always seen clearly in the moment, but one that is becoming clearer as life brings me to a point of knowing that most of the days are behind instead of ahead.  Perhaps, it is such a place that brings me to a greater sense of gratitude for the many whom God has put on the path alongside of me to help me along the way.