Finding Keepsakes

Many people will go on a vacation and take an empty suitcase or bag with them to hold their souvenirs. This way they have plenty of space for the things they want to bring home as part of the memory of their experience.

I encourage our mission teams to do the same thing from a mental and spiritual perspective. We come into these trips with varying expectations and levels of experience. Even though we travel together and see many of the same things, we also perceive those events very differently. Practicing the meditative thought of carrying an empty duffel bag with us gives each person the freedom to pack the piece of our shared memories they wish to keep. It can be the first sight of life on the reservation, a sweet interaction with a child, an opportunity to pray over someone, or even just a new glimpse of a piece of creation.

I can't determine what each person will pack in their bag of keepsakes. I can only encourage them to hang onto a part that has had genuine impact and to let it be a reminder of a special experience when we return to the normal pace of life.

Rescued

We have three dogs in our home with two of them being under a year old. I didn't plan on that happening, but sometimes things move in directions you can't predict. One of our dogs, Annie, really belongs to my youngest daughter Olivia and is a rescued dog. She had been in a shelter where our girls volunteer and we brought her home before Christmas.

She is definitely an energetic dog who loves to run through the house and then jump on the furniture (and people.) Annie loves to play enthusiastically with us and the other dogs even though our old dog doesn't want anything to do with her. She knows when it's meal time and will wait by the bowl (not so) patiently. Olivia and I were talking about her ebullient attitude today and I suggested that part of it is related to her time in the shelter. She is still astounded by the freedom and love she gets here and is appreciative of each part of it.

It's not that different than when we experience the grace of God. Remembering where we used to be and how far God has brought us only makes us more appreciative of our present position. It's when we forget where we were before we tasted God's grace that we lose our enthusiasm.

Memory Loss

They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them. (Psalm 78:11 NIV)

How quickly we forget what God has done. In good times we forget how much we depended on Him. In tough times we forget how He has delivered us in the past. It only takes one generation that ignores God for a family to forget where they came from. If we believe that God is the one true solution then we should make sure that we are providing constant reminders of His goodness. It's the only way to stay centered on what matters most.