Reflection Moment
Memory Makers

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things” - Robert Brault I just love that quote. It makes me think about what we’re doing today…making our shadow boxes or memory boxes, as I would like to call them. We are preserving a special memory from a special time in our lives or in the lives of someone else. Many of our precious memories are centred around our families.

The first institution God ordained was not the church but the family. Families are important to God. His commandments talk about family and how we should relate to one another. His relationship to us is depicted as a family. We are adopted into His family. He is our Father. We are His adopted sons and daughters. One day Jesus Christ will come back for His bride…the church. If we have accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour we are part of this wonderful family of God. Families are special and important to God.

Traditions are important to God as well. Look at all the feasts and celebrations the early church had and still have today. Even the time of Communion or the Lord’s Supper that we observe is a time of remembrance for what Jesus did for us on the cruel cross. God wants us to remember special times in our lives. He gave us a memory in our minds to preserve so many things. Even when our loved ones are gone we can still recall those precious times. The capacity we have to remember things is marvellous and amazing. Though I’m sure we all have some things we wish we could forget!!

We are creating these Memory Boxes or Shadowboxes to remember someone or some thing. If you could put one of your greatest memories in a box, what would it be? What do you cherish? What is one of the best memories you have? Let’s go around the room and briefly talk about one of our cherished memories.

One of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to “begin with the end in mind.” What that means is to think about the end of your life. What do want to be remembered by? What do want people to say about you at your funeral? Think about those things and today begin doing those things. If you want to be remembered as a generous and happy person, think about what you need to start doing to become one. Begin with the end in mind. I encourage you to start creating those family memories today. Start a new tradition. The holidays are coming up. Think up a tradition you would like to begin with your family. If you need some ideas I have some great books to get those creative juices flowing. Creating memories doesn’t have to be expensive either. It may be a surprise picnic lunch for your husband or a day out at the park with your children. One evening we actually had a backwards night. Everyone came to dinner with their clothes inside out. We had dessert first and did the entire dinner backwards even by eating with the end of the fork. It was hilarious and lots of fun. Even though that happened several years ago the memory is embedded in our son’s mind. He still talks about it today. Go out and begin making some special memories this week. You will be so glad you did. Remember: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.”

Valerie Keefe