Good Memories: Food Storage For The Soul

TheDiscipleMD

A few years ago I spent the day with one of my brothers and three of my sisters visiting our “childhood”. We stopped by our old elementary school, stood on the baseball diamonds of younger years, and visited homes in which we had lived. We drove through the neighborhoods of our youth, ate at old “watering holes” and visited the high school in which nine of us kids graduated. It really turned out to be a day of sharing memories.

Memories are a strange thing. They have very little meaning when one is young, but as one grows older, they grow sweeter, more powerful; more precious. And so the five of us spent the day reminiscing, laughing, talking, telling stories, but mostly sharing feelings of love and admiration for those who have affected our lives so profoundly.

“Someone who was a little more poetic than theological said, “Memory is the one Garden of Eden out of which one need never be cast.” Good memories are real blessings.” (Joe Christensen, “Good Memories Are Real Blessings”, 1989, Nov., Ensign)

I am fortunate to have a life full of good memories. I believe those memories are “real” blessings in my life. They remind me of the joy that can be found in living and that most of my good memories revolve around my family. Some individuals have not been so blessed. Yet all of us have the opportunity and ability to provide “good and uplifting” memories for our own families. I hope my five children will be able to look back on their lives and have the same wonderful feelings I have of my youth.

Good memories also come from making righteous decisions. When we recall good memories they almost certainly revolve around righteous acts and thoughts. Seldom do good memories come from unrighteous living. A few years ago I met up with an old high school friend. During the course of our conversation I brought up what I thought was a “funny” incident from his past. The incident was funny but the act surrounding it was not one to be proud of. He was clearly uncomfortable with my repeating of the story and I felt bad later for telling it. But I was again reminded that “good” memories usually revolve around “good” behavior.

Creating and re-sharing positive memories can serve as strength in the lean times of our lives. They become “food storage” to our souls. They can serve as nourishment to the heart,  buoy up our spirits and give us hope for the future. May we live our lives so as to create and store “good memories”! They can brighten our lives on future rainy days. It has been a few years since my siblings and I took the time to go down “memory lane”. That day, another good memory was banked in my heart. It has buoyed up my soul just writing about it. Take the time to make “good memories” with your loved ones. In Ecclesiastes we read, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days”. (11:1) I believe that we will not only find it, but “good memories” will return to us tenfold.

 

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