What’s in Your Memory Box?

Years ago there was a home visit in the parish I’ll never forget. I was bringing Holy Communion to a couple in their 80’s. The husband was bed ridden so we said our prayers bedside and they took the Host.

Afterward the Mrs. invited me to their overheated living room to “chat a bit”. Some minutes into our first-time introductions, she asked me, “Do you want to see my braid?” “Excuse me?”, I said. “My braid, I’ve saved my hair.”

So what does one say? “Sure. Let me see your braid.” In a flash she sets a handsome mahogany box on the table. Lined in red velvet, the box contained what looked like a thick dark brown rope about the size of a braided garden hose. It was the hair of a young woman. Her mother had insisted that scissors not touch her hair from birth to her 18th birthday. This box contained the beautiful hair of her youth.

She smiled remembering how she looked with that beautiful auburn hair.

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My point? There are some things we should never let go. Some things are so precious that they continue to feed us, inspire us, touch us, long after the actual event.

We talked last week about scars and the painful memories they can bring and how God can use them to bring about character and compassion for others. So too, we each have unforgettable memories that make us smile, that warm our hearts, that make us proud. God gives these to us as our very own treasure chest.

He wants us to open it often and remember the wonderful work He let us be a part of. Why? So that we become aware of the goodness of God in our life! So that we can “connect the dots” and find God present to us in the people and events of our life.

So what’s in your treasure chest? Mine? Here’s a couple of mine:

• Our screened in porch and garden growing up.
• My dad reading the newspaper at night in his chair.
• Senior year basketball. Beating Gilmore Academy in triple overtime.
• A moonlit walk with a first love. Fifty years ago. (pretty corny, eh?!)
• My sweet sisters constantly forgiving me for my unkindness.
• A tree, where God sat me down and let me know He was with me.
• Friends who love me and still talk to me after many years!
• The grace to walk away from a harmful habit.
• Some genuinely holy people who have graced my life.

All these cause me to pause, to remember God’s invisible hand guiding me in my life.

Your homework? Think back. Find your moments and . . . Give Him Thanks.

Bless your week.

Fr. Tim

PS. Remember God is not done with you yet. Keep your eyes open.