Just imagine with me, that in a moment, just like that, you no longer had your long term memory.  Suddenly, you have no recollection of the things from your past, the good and the bad, and you were left with only your present thoughts.

It’s a terrible scenario, isnt it? Of course, there are things that we think we’d gladly like to give up from our memories…thoughts of tragedy, and difficult moments in our lives, but then again, would we really want to forget them all?

I was listening to a radio program tonight on my way home, and a story came on about a mother who had been in a terrible accident and lost all of her memory.  While she was thankful to be alive, the pain that came from not being able to remember the details of the past hurt her just as much as the physical problems she  also now suffers with.

I was instantly in tears as I began taking inventory of my own memories:

The birth of my now almost three year old daughter –wow, time has flown, what have I already forgotten about her little life??

The journey of infertility–I honestly dont want to forget those tear filled moments of prayer, begging God to hear me. 

My wedding– I am already struggling to remember some sweet details about that whirlwind of a day.

Meeting the man of my dreams–It seems like SO long ago now. 

Asking Christ to be my Savior at teen camp– I pray that this memory remains as vivid in my memory as it is now. What a beautiful day…

My School Age years– a total blur, and I can only remember bits and pieces of things I thought I’d NEVER forget. 

Those are the easy memories though…just humor me and take a look at your photos on facebook, and I mean go alllllll the way back. It’ll amaze (and maybe sadden) you at all of the things that you have already forgotten about.

It gave me a great perspective, at this perfect time of the year. With Thanksgiving being this week, I suddenly find myself SO thankful, even MORE thankful now for my memories, and so prepared to give God thanks for them.

Obviously, with this holiday season upon us, we all seem to find a little extra bit of festivity and gratefulness, but I realized that I have a precious gift, that I often overlook. The gift of memories.

Not only can we look back over the past year to proclaim all of the wonderful blessings in which we are thankful for, but we can look ahead, and plan to be thankful for the memories we will be allowed to make.

But making memories seems to be more and more difficult these days. With the business around us, I find myself many times at the end of the day wishing I had taken more time to be thoughtful and purposeful with my actions.

I make “To Do” lists often, and  when I’m hard at it, I cant be bothered with the things that aren’t on my piece of paper…But how many opportunities for memories have I disregarded? For instance,  when my toddler wants to help me “wash dishes” but I know it’s going to take way more time, and make a bigger mess than I have the “time” to deal with right now. How many quick Face Time chats have I skipped over, because I didn’t have all the time I wanted to spend with my friends across the world, when five minutes could have made a huge difference in my day? How long has it been since I’ve really made an effort to make a MEMORY with someone?

Are we too busy? Are we too tired to make an effort? Is it too inconvenient to take the time away from our other “daily duties”?

With Thanksgiving upon us, I hope that we can all take this time off, and really commit to making more memories, and thank God for the opportunities He’s given us to do so.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! May your holidays be FILLED with memories!

 

With a thankful heart,

Holly