Memories

[irishman]

There comes a time in life when memories become very precious. We tend to cling to them, and not let them go; we walk again a life now past, and enjoy the excitement of life all over again. Memories; sometimes it seems as if that’s all we have left that is worthwhile, and yet they are no longer reality. Many of them are lost in the OBlivion of time gone by, vague memories, as accurate as we wish them to be, and still exhilarating to our hearts with precious thoughts to occupy our days. They are often little appreciated, at the first thought of them, but stored away for future reference in our old age. With memories, we relive the excitement of youth; we brave the storms of life again, and stand firm on our warn-out convictions. Yea, we can make them pleasant or terrifying, whatever we choose to draw out of the archives of our minds. Memories; they soothe the pain of old age, and nurture us along until we meet our Lord in the air; they keep us alive in spirit as they bring joy to our hearts. Yes, in later years, memories become very precious, very dear indeed.

All of us have memories; some good, and some not at all good, but they are there to remind us of a life gone by, and of days long gone. They linger in our minds, and yes, also in our hearts, haunting and taunting us, and exciting us toward life and youth again. I thank the Lord for memories, though I seem to recall those I would not, instead of those I should. I think we all do by nature. It seems as if they were given to us for a purpose, as each one represents an actual portion of our life. Memories are photographs stored in a box and put away for future reminiscing; they are good times, and bad times and they paint a picture of a life lived, and of joys and sorrows that came along the way. Ah, memories, how vague they can be as we age, and how easily they become lost in details, and yet, they remain mostly precious. They have either blessed us, or taught us, but nevertheless, they linger. Some remain to excite emotions of love gone by; some of pain remembered; some of youth with its whimsical hopes; and some adorned with all sorts of ornaments of grace and hope.

When all have forsaken us, and all possessions are lost, memories remain, and cannot be taken away by others; they can however, become lost in the OBlivion of time, and succumb to a feeble mindedness, and thereby lose their effect on us. No one can snatch away our thoughts and memories, but they seem to fade as time goes on, and often are completely lost; even those which are most precious. At times like these we are left with nothing, absolutely nothing of our past life, and we exist in a world of our own. Even then we often resort back to childhood, and relive the days of yore when mom and dad ruled our lives and we were completely at their mercy; even then we live in the world of memories. Ah, but while we have them, let us relish in them, and remember the joy and heartache they give us. Let us bask in comfort and discomfort of days gone by, and times unknown to many others; let us remember the shared memories with family and friends, and relive the ‘glory days” of our lives. What else have we but these? As age often confines us to a chair, or to a limited lifestyle, and slows our thinking and our actions, as life often weakens our bodies, and our spirit, we can cling to memories of what used to be, and of what once was.
Memories are dreams in reverse! As dreams look forward to great things in life, memories look back and make the mundane to be great. Exaggeration becomes our “dream” and the stories vary to each person we share them with, but let us go! We are building a mountain of hope; we are living a new life that somehow never was; we are finding recognition in a world that has forgotten us, at least in our own minds. Yes, we are living in the past, but the past used to be called “the good old days”, and that they are. They are the days when we counted for something, and we were men and women of integrity, and life was good. These “good old days” were days of strife; of laughter; of joy; of successes and failures, all of which we remember later in life, and consider most precious. We now laugh at the struggles and the trials because we know that we have overcome them; somehow they are no longer great mountains looming before us, but small hills that we had to climb. The victories are exalted, while the failures are minimized.

Thank you Lord for the memories, many of which I am now ashamed of; many of which I went through without your blessing, although we are never out of the reach of your grace and mercy, but many of which we shared together. Oh how precious are those we have shared. Thank you for giving me life—real life, where I have tasted the richness of thy glory, and basked in the comfort of thy love. Thank you for turning my dreams into memories, and giving me new dreams to be fulfilled. Thank you for the family you’ve given me, who, each one, shares a portion of those memories with me, and for the times we learned to trust in thee and in thy ever-loving grace. What a wonderful partner you have been in life for me; thank you though for the partner you have given me to share many of these memories with throughout the years, and for the faithfulness and love we have shared. Many moments have passed, and many events have occurred, but I was never alone in them, and neither was my wife; for this I thank you very much.


Gypsy Martindale

[JerryNumbers]

And thank you Lord because of our Savior, because of your mercy and grave, we will forever make memories in heaven with no sin to taint them.

[John81]

One of the sections of Scripture that has been so important in my life is Psalm 103:1-5.

Verse 2 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:".

Memories. As this verse indicates we are remember God's blessings in our lives; we should have blessed memories stored where we can see God's faithfulness in our lives, that we can share with others to the glory of God, that we can use help lift us up in times of trouble.

God points us here as to some of the things we should have memories of:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

[irishman]

One of the sections of Scripture that has been so important in my life is Psalm 103:1-5.

Verse 2 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:".

Memories. As this verse indicates we are remember God's blessings in our lives; we should have blessed memories stored where we can see God's faithfulness in our lives, that we can share with others to the glory of God, that we can use help lift us up in times of trouble.

God points us here as to some of the things we should have memories of:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

One of my favorite passages concerning thankfulness, and what we have to be thankful for. I might say that you didn't go far enough though, you could almost cite the entire chapter!

Consider:
Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.


Thank you for the post

[John81]

One of my favorite passages concerning thankfulness, and what we have to be thankful for. I might say that you didn't go far enough though, you could almost cite the entire chapter!

Consider:
Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.


Thank you for the post

All of Psalm 103 is excellent and those three verses are powerful indeed!

Many times I've stopped and thought of and prayed about the fact I'm so blessed simply because of God's great mercy.