Memories

There is no end to the memories we carry with us.  Some lift us up like a burst of fresh wind at our back while others grab hold of us and throw us on the ground.  Memories have a way of taking us into our past in such a way that if often seems we are there once again.  Even things we would say are forgotten can be brought to the surface of our conscious mind by some word or scene which serves as a trigger that opens the door to what is so forgotten we did not even know we still had it with us.  Our memories are powerful gifts.   

To speak of memory as a gift is a stretch for some who live with memories that have left scars that have never seemed to heal.  Survivors of abusive households, veterans of battlefields, and victims of crimes surely struggle with scars that are still frightening and painful to remember.  It is hard for those of us whose scars may not be as deep to understand those who have suffered so greatly and, perhaps, the only way we can is to go into our own storehouse of memories and multiply the power of the scars we ourselves bear.    

The point is that memory is a blessed thing in that it brings to mind the moments of sunshine in our life, but it also has the potential to throw our life into chaos.  The Word tells us that God can use our worst to bring about good.  (Romans 8:28).  It is a process that is not always seen.  When we dare to risk revealing the deep wounds in our life that we remember with such pain, we find that another soul gets a little closer to healing and as a byproduct so do we.  There is something surprisingly redemptive in that kind of personal transparency.  It is always painful to share our own pain with others, but as we do we are likely to discover two things: an unseen purpose in our pain and a balm for healing in the lives of others.