Walking down the hallway of my mom’s home was like a time warp through my various hairstyles. Some were cute pictures, like 6-year-old Cindy. Some were terrible, like 13-year-old Cindy. And some were downright horrifying, like 16-year-old Cindy. Good grief mom, why did you let me leave the house like that?
At one point my son said, “Mom, is that really you?” To which I replied, “Yes son, that awesome person is still your awesome mother.” To which he replied, “Please don’t wear your hair like that again.” Touché son, touché.
And then there was a picture of my wedding day.
A few (million) sibling pictures.
A picture of me with my first baby.
A picture of my family as a family of four.
And a picture of me when I was a flower girl at the age of 5.
I admit it all made me a little teary-eyed.
Three days later we were driving down the highway on our way to my husband’s family’s cabin. He hadn’t been to the cabin in four years (since our faith journey) and nostalgia was unfolding at every turn. He had story after story about …
The highway signs …
The canola fields …
The lake …
The billowing clouds …
The little while church on the corner of the highway …
And the sand dunes.
It all had/has sentimental value for him in the same way the pictures have sentimental value for me. That’s what memories do – they take you back to those special moments in life … the moments that often in the moment you tend to forget to appreciate, to cherish, to value and to hold tight to …
The cute moments …
The hilarious moments …
The kid moments …
The teenage moments …
The dirty biking moments …
The boating moments …
The downright horrifying moments …
And yes, even the bad hair moments.
Which is why it’s important to look back from time-to-time, to walk down memory lane and take a journey through your life. In doing so, you get the beautiful opportunity to see what has happened in your life, where you’ve come from, what God has done and how it has all formed and shaped you to become who you are today.
But don’t look back longingly, with regret, sorrow or painful desire for the good ol’ days. Look back with appreciation so you can look forward with anticipation. Allow past memories to remind you that today’s moments will someday soon — sooner than you realize — become tomorrow’s memories.
Then allow that awareness to spur you to see the beauty of this moment — the here, the present, the beautiful right now.
“Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future.” —Mattie Stepanek
