Beyond Common Sense

Mom was the last to go, passing in 2022. It’s hard to believe it will be four years this December 17^th.  Today would have been my mother-in-law’s ninety-fourth birthday. “Gone, but not forgotten” at least by my husband and me. But a chilling fact is that we are forgotten. My kids and grandkids will remember me, and I may be blessed to know some of my great-grandchildren, but after that…?

I recently heard the quote, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” I love the play on words, but more importantly, I love the meaning. I am a history lover, and I tend to hold on to the past, unwilling to part with trinkets with any sentimental value. But the older I get, the more I realize that there will be a day when someone else will need to deal with all my “stuff,” and that thought has made me reevaluate my treasures!

We need to remember the past, realizing that it is the stuff that has shaped who we are. I cannot deny my heritage, nor do I want to, but if it drives us to a morbid retrospect, then we’ve turned it from being a blessing to an albatross.

And here’s another thought—pictures. Someone once said, “Don’t worry about the pictures; enjoy the moment.”

I get that too, but I am so thankful for this picture. It’s out of focus but I keep it on my dresser because of the memory it recalls. I believe it may have been my parents’ anniversary. It’s not the greatest picture of either of them, but it caught a moment that I’ll never forget. I don’t even know what was so funny, but oh, those smiles—they say so much! Mom was a bit gullible, and Dad just loved “pulling her leg.” Her laugh, his look, they bring an ache to my heart! I miss them so!

But I will smile and keep the memory in my heart until I see them again. Praise God for that promise! Unlike the theme in the movie, Coco, they will live on forever—I will live on forever, not because someone kept my memory alive, but because Jesus died to give me eternal life!  He paid my sin-debt, which I could never have paid, and I received His free gift of salvation.

So, keep the pictures, remember the memories, but live in the present while the past lives in you!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, NKJV).