Reflecting is not a bad thing. Now going to the past and dwelling there; that’s a different story. God gives us memories for a reason. Some to teach us a lesson; to learn by. Some are sad, some are funny, and some are just warm and fuzzy for no reason except to remember and reflect on life...that it was good. Once upon a time life was warm and life was good. Sometimes if I shut my eyes when I reflect I can smell things, I can feel little hands inside mine as I remember my kids at various ages in their life...now I hold those tiny hands in my heart where I can take them out and reflect, remember, and never forget. As Emily prepares for her own adventures as a mother I so want to tell her to slow down and savor every moment! Even morning sickness, not so pleasant now but one day will be a warm and fuzzy memory of a new life that grew out of love. When I close my eyes I can feel the pain of the ones I have loved and lost, I can see the anguish on their face but I can also see the sweet release that came when they lost their fight here on earth and joined their heavenly father. Now thats a warm and fuzzy! And in the end, if we follow God as he commands we all will welcome that sweet release.
2 Corinthians 5:8 To be absent from the body...is to be present with the Lord!
I guess it is the years end that brings on reflection. A mark on the calendar; the end of the month of December-the end of the year. Done with 2015, turn a page and there you have it, all new for 2016...January 1! A new place to start all fresh and new. No memories...all new territory. That is how my life kind of feels like now. As we put up our tree this year I left all the memories tucked in totes in the garage, we did all new ornaments, all new memories. But then I realized I don’t want all of my memories in the garage. So I found myself dragging piece by piece, one at a time, in the house. Gentle reminders of a beautiful life where love overflowed at not only Christmas but all year long. I found that you can’t hide those kind of memories away. They exude out of you everywhere! When you were-are- loved; people see it! They feel it! They know it! It is almost contagious. I know there is nothing here on earth that resembles the love Christ has for us, unless it is a mother's love, but when we know love, true love, real love...that’s when Christmas shines through. That is what Christmas is to me...love. A love that starts in the heart and gives, not expecting anything in return. A love that does not question, it just is. A love that sometimes may trickle a tear down the face just because your heart is so full there is no where else for it to go. A love that lets you feel the pain and heartache of the one you love. But to hold on to all the pain is not fair to you, it hinders the way you were meant to live, life to the fullest. It also hinders the memory of the one you love. They don’t want to be remembered for the pain that was in their life. They will want to be remembered for their laughter, their love, they want their life remembered and cherished... not their death. So as 2015 comes to a close remember this:
Life is short-live it Love is rare-grab it Anger is bad-dump it Fear is awful-face it Memories are sweet-cherish them ----------unknown
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
