Remember...

Today, out of my Bible lesson on Hebrews, and a tie-in to Exodus, I got another reminder about being thankful.  I also realized that we must remember, but it is important to remember the right things.  The Israelites remembered Egypt instead of crossing the Red Sea.  They remembered leeks and onions and other foods instead of manna sent straight from Heaven.  As we practice gratitude, we are able to look back on our lives and remember when God saw us through. These events can be small or large. Tonight, I'm reflecting and remembering:

A little girl who at age 4 drove a car off of a cliff, the driver's door open.  One little pumpknot and a broken pair of glasses, and a Mommy who looked worse for the wear from chasing the car down the hill.  Same little girl a week later, spilling all of the flowers from her flower basket and stopping to pick them up, scolded by her older cousin to just go on down the aisle.

I'm remembering a Daddy who paused at his calculator to pull up a chair and listen to a little girl ramble, telling stories and singing.  A Daddy who sometimes thinks he didn't make enough time for that little girl, but the time that he did make, of laughing and hugs and field trips to Lousiville where he sang Guns n Roses to the delight of the little girls' classmates.  A Daddy who was at times impatient, but recognized it and used it as a lesson to tell the little girl the importance of patience and temperance.  A Daddy who cries sometimes at the drop of the hat, who loves others with his whole heart. 

I'm remembering sleepovers at Grandma's house during basketball season, the feel of her heavy comforter as I snuggled in for another bedtime story, of the coolness of linoleum floors as I padded to the bathroom, of homemade cornbread soaking in big glasses of milk and of a grandma who was magical because she told the best stories and could draw so well.

I'm remembering nights full of fireflies at the pond, the sound of frogs and fish jumping, smoke from the campfire drifting up to the sky, stars bright as I wasn't worried about snakes (you'll not catch me up there now after dark.  And I wonder what happened to that brave little girl...)

I remember Papaw hitting the bucket and catfish jumping.   Of climbing the tree in Grandma Na's front yard, and of watching Glenn be brave and climb on the roof.  I never made it over quite that far. (Guess I wasn't that brave).   I remember the whole family gathering for biscuits and gravy, until the three at one bundle arrived and there wasn't anymore room.  I remember hiding in closets and dressing in Grandma's boots (very fashionable, if I must say so myself).

I remember Papaw Jr., so quiet and humble, hugging me at the funeral home when his Mom died.  It is the first time I can remember him telling me he loved me, yet I somehow knew anyway.  I remember times spent with Mamaw Carrie, of ice cream melting as Jen and I walked  back to her house from the Dime Store, of Days of Our Lives on the TV and a path beat down from generations of kids running behind the house.  Of Papaw Barlow and wrestling and him turning his hearing aid down so we wouldn't bother him.

I remember times in the gym.  Those were some of my favorite times.  I remember bad times, too, times when I wish I could go back and shake my 14 year old self, but those years of the bad attitude helped me figure out who I wasn't, so I guess they are worth something.  As I wrote a couple of days ago, God works everything to the good. 

We are a culmination of our life experiences.  If we look back on them, we will see how God has used them to our good.  Learning experiences that help shape us, and mold us into who we are.  By remembering them, we open our eyes to His goodness.  And it is our job to then tell it to future generations.  Caleb loves to hear about when his Nana was little.  I'm not so good with the stories, but I'm realizing that I need to take time to do this.  He never knew his great-great grandparents, but I think they would have gotten a kick out of him.  By sharing these stories with him, and with you, I am helping to spread our family legacy, one that I am proud to say is firmly rooted in Christ Jesus and His everlasting love. 

 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.^{[a] 5} And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. ⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. " Deuteronomy 6:4-9...

Love the Lord.  and Remember.