For Wilshire Baptist Church
While decorating the house for Christmas, I was reminded again how God has stirred up my life and perhaps messed with my memory – but in a good way.
Time after time, as we pulled decorations out of boxes, LeAnn would ask me where something came from: an ornament, a nativity, a knickknack. And much of the time I couldn’t tell her because I didn’t remember. Now, the fact that she was asking me was a strong hint that the item was not something she brought to our marriage 11 years ago. But beyond that, I still couldn’t tell if the item was a gift, was bought new at a store or secondhand at an antique shop.
I know some of my lack of recollection is just due to age. Not because of some kind of memory issue, but just the piling up of years and events. I could be bothered by that – and maybe I am a little – but I’m more inclined to look at it as a blessing. I’ve come to believe that God has gifted me with a cloudy memory – or a healthy ambivalence – about trinkets and treasures. This blurring of the past has helped me embrace today and tomorrow rather than yearning for yesterday, and the blending of old and new and especially “hers and his” has helped create a new way of living.
If we stay anywhere long enough, we can find the same thing happening. It may be in a neighborhood, a workplace, a church or faith community. The span of time and the coming and going of people can smudge the fingerprints that tell us who has done what. As in a marriage or family, that can be frustrating if we want to know the answer to questions such as: Who Who planted that tree? Who secured that client? Who started that program?
But if we’re content with the results, it can be a blessing not to know who did what. If we’re doing life right, we’re not living it just for ourselves. We’re living it for each other, and that requires making room for each other’s stuff – whether that be a business initiative, a church missions project, or a Christmas ornament.