My family experienced a gift of memories this weekend.
The occasion was the celebration of my mom’s 80th birthday. In preparation for our party, (which involved lobsters, clam chowder and lots of laughs) all of her children, her sons and daughters-in-law, and grandchildren emailed a memory of mom to my sister who arranged them beautifully into a memory book.
Each of us, in his or her own style and through the lens of a unique relationship with Mom, described memories of decades ago and days ago,
regular days and major life events,
laughs and tears.
We gave her a gift of the meaningful moments that she first gave us, and the resulting mosaic of memories beautifully depicts the character and life of my mom. I think she liked it.
My siblings and I all remarked that we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the exercise. To think back over my mother’s life, her love, care and guidance for me, and to really spend some time pondering and appreciating who she is was a great gift to me.
We don’t always do that, do we? I genuinely love and enjoy my family and friends, but I don’t often stop to reflect about who they are, what makes each person unique, how he or she make me laugh, or the singular influence that each family member or friend has had on my life.
It is a great gift to remember the riches that are stored in our relationships.
We are each invited into a relationship of unlimited and unending richness. The God who will never forget us asks us to remember Him, his character, his great and mighty works and his loving sacrifice. To do so is a great gift.
Have you ever spent some time remembering the riches of your relationships?
“Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them…He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate… He remembers his covenant forever.” Psalm 111:2, 4
Connecting Dots...to God 
Even in a life time of memories I have wanted to forget….more and more, God has been showing me times when he was with me – even when I didn’t know- those are great memories for sure!
This is a lovely post, and tribute, Judy. I am estranged from my family–sadly there is more lead than gold in our memories. Switching gears, I don’t find your post for today–comes up with an error message… God bless you abundantly–love, sis Caddo
To my sis Caddo, consider me one who is blessed and proud to be part of your blogging family:) As for my aborted post today, I accidentally published a very incomplete post without realizing it and then hastened to un-publish it! I plan to get back to it tomorrow – thanks for asking though! Bless you back, Caddo!
Oh good, it’s so disconcerting to click on the post that isn’t there! As for the family deal–God really does bless us with “double for our trouble”; He has given me such a wonderful family in the blog neighborhood, so my heart is FULL! See you manana!
“…Have you ever spent some time remembering the riches of your relationships?”
In relation to my family and friends, probably not nearly enough. Although I enjoy reminding my 88 year old mother of things that she did years ago. It’s a way for me to remind her she wasn’t always old and that she made a difference in my life.
As far as remembering what God has done in my life, I write important things down in notebooks. Then, when times get tough, I go through the notebooks and remind myself and God how He rescued me and that He will do it again.