Memory Week

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. (Psalm 143:5)

As we approach Memorial Day it would do us well to consider the great role memories play in our lives.  This is a weekend of memories. Of course, it is a weekend of memories of those who have gone before us.  The graveyards of our country receive more visitors on this weekend than at any other time of year.  Yet those of us who believe in an afterlife do not visit the graves of our loved ones who have died to mourn (unless it was a recent death, still fresh on our hearts), but to remember those with whom we have shared treasured times of our lives.

Most of our memories involve people.  It is in the interaction with others that we discover much about who we are and what we are about.  There are certainly experiences we recall and some are highly impacting to our lives.  But, for the most part, those times all involve people who shared the experience with us.  Stopping for a moment to remember is good.

The Purpose of Memories

Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories.  Stored in the refrigerator
of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.  ~Thomas Fuller

There is possibly no study more interesting than those surrounding the human mind.  This incredible organ that cannot be duplicated by man except in minor functions staggers our thinking.  Of all the functions of the brain, its capability to store and recall data is above all the most remarkable.  The basis of all our feelings, fears and intelligence revolves around our memories.

A memory is what is left when something happens
and does not completely unhappen.  ~Edward de Bono

It is amazing to think that everything that will happen, be said, or be seen in my life today will become a memory.  While the events of this day may have little impact individually, when placed in the storehouse of the mind they may become vital to my tomorrows.  Every one of these will be encoded, marked and prepared for recall.  Even to bring up the subject of memories in this writing has probably triggered in your mind thousands of thoughts and pictures ready to be selected for review. 

Memories are more than dry data and facts.  Memories are sensory in nature.  Sounds, sights, and smells are all a part of our recollection and can be triggers to our recall.  This means that memories evoke feelings; lots of them.  The emotions of memory are powerful and cause them to bring the past right into our future.

To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more
fit for its prime function of looking forward.  ~Margaret Fairless Barber, The Roadmender

This week will provide opportunity to remember.  We will look at a variety of perspectives on the power of our thoughts regarding the things of our past.  We will also look at how we can use memory to guide our future steps and complete our life mission. 

For today, take a moment to wisely choose from the storehouse of your mind those things that can brighten your day and enhance your path.

Scripture to Claim:

"Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,  Isaiah 46:9