7/23/14
The buzz of an electric saw got my husband's attention, chatting over the fence he discovered the neighbor building a miniature ticket booth for his 4 year olds upcoming birthday party. This prompted a trip down memory lane with our 21 year old son. It is fascinating to hear what kinds of things he remembers: a pool party, a 12' x 12' cardboard castle with turrets, and a paper fireplace for their stockings.
What I remember about the above ground pool (it was 3' high) that year was that I struggled to keep the water clear and it was often green, just like on the day of his party. Sure it was only a light green that day - but thankfully the group of 9 year old boys didn't care. Still I remember the green.
The cardboard castle set up in front of our house was part of our Medieval times study. The local appliance store kindly provided large boxes for building. His knight costume was a large t-shirt with a belt and his shield was poster board. I hope I remembered to take a picture.
The fireplace was a paper and marker creation that we taped to the wall in our kitchen. I hung their Christmas stockings on nails in front of a blazing fire of red and orange. Then I taped our Christmas cards onto the pretend mantle. As a young and growing family those were some very tight years for us financially.
When our son mentioned Christmas, I thought he was going to refer to our somewhat limited gift giving. I noticed I had remembered a negative aspect of each of his memories. He had walked down a happy lane and I had followed along except I had been one step over in a negative lane.
Do you ever remember something stupid or embarrassing you said years ago? And you are so mortified that you were mean or thoughtless? Yes? Me too! Guess what? No one who loves you is remembering that stuff. People who love us know that we are not perfect. We have permission to let go of the negative aspects of our memories. God has told us which lane to be in - not because it makes Him happy, but because He knows it will make us healthy and grateful.
The buzz of an electric saw got my husband's attention, chatting over the fence he discovered the neighbor building a miniature ticket booth for his 4 year olds upcoming birthday party. This prompted a trip down memory lane with our 21 year old son. It is fascinating to hear what kinds of things he remembers: a pool party, a 12' x 12' cardboard castle with turrets, and a paper fireplace for their stockings.
What I remember about the above ground pool (it was 3' high) that year was that I struggled to keep the water clear and it was often green, just like on the day of his party. Sure it was only a light green that day - but thankfully the group of 9 year old boys didn't care. Still I remember the green.
The cardboard castle set up in front of our house was part of our Medieval times study. The local appliance store kindly provided large boxes for building. His knight costume was a large t-shirt with a belt and his shield was poster board. I hope I remembered to take a picture.
The fireplace was a paper and marker creation that we taped to the wall in our kitchen. I hung their Christmas stockings on nails in front of a blazing fire of red and orange. Then I taped our Christmas cards onto the pretend mantle. As a young and growing family those were some very tight years for us financially.
When our son mentioned Christmas, I thought he was going to refer to our somewhat limited gift giving. I noticed I had remembered a negative aspect of each of his memories. He had walked down a happy lane and I had followed along except I had been one step over in a negative lane.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:8 NASB
Did you notice the word dwell at the end of the verse? The bible reminds us that how we think is how we are (see Proverbs 23:7) What we think about is where we dwell. I certainly don't want to live in the negative, seeing everything with such a critical eye that I miss out on all the surrounding good stuff.
Dear Lord, thank You for so gently showing me where my thoughts are by showing me what lane I was walking in. Please nudge each of us out of the path we are used to and give us the strength to resist the familiar negative aspects and appreciation for all that is good. In Jesus name, amen.
Written by Mary M.Wilkins
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