Sometimes it is so wonderful to walk down memory lane. I ventured into the depths of the long storage on Friday on a search for my college Bible. I wasn't sure when I made the switch, so I wasn't sure what box it would be in. College? Miami? Camp Roger? I found it and found another Bible as well. . . one that I must have switched to in the late 90's it seems.
I wanted to dig out one of my old Bibles because of the speech I'm working on. One of the things I want to talk about is the importance of using your Bible, of writing in it. God's Word is so great and writing in your Bible is like having a conversation with God.
I sat in my chair on Friday night and lovingly turned the pages of my old Bibles. I read through the many notes that were tucked in between the pages. It was amazing to read encouragement from friends. My journey left me reflecting on several things.
1. God has certainly been faithful. There were some issues that I had written about in the pages that seem so insignificant now. Things that were so very huge are now. . . almost forgettable. As I read a few notes I remembered friendships of long ago that no longer exist now. My good friend Ryan from Camp Roger gave me several notes and I remember really treasuring his friendship. I haven't seen him in years. YET, God was faithful to put him in my life when I needed a friend like him. I loved reading verses that God used during certain periods of my life. So awesome!
2. It grieved me to see pieces of my life that were missing. I love the Lord and have always walked with Him, yet it became very evident to me that there were chunks of my life where I didn't open my Bible much. No underlining with dates. No notes from folks. Why wasn't I turning to God? Why was I choosing to not open my Bible and interact with my Father? I can't answer those questions. I just want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
3. Written letters are pretty cool. In both Bibles there were notes from family members and friends, my mom in particular. When I first moved to Miami I loved it, but struggled with being away from home. I found many notes of encouragement from my mom (and such a sweet one from my brother Ryan: Hey Shanda. I'm in eighth grade.). She wrote to me about what she was doing. She told me things about church folks "Chris and Becky got married this week-end." and shared with me how work was going. "Work is going better for me. I'm finally catching unto all the Microsoft things so I feel more confident about what I have to do." There is even a paragraph in a letter talking about how she will be speaking at a retreat and she is trusting that God will give her what she needs to say. WOW! That is exactly what I'm going through. These letters are time capsules and remind me of how I was loved and taken care of. . . even from far away.
I stood and looked at my tubs taking up space. . . holding so many memories. I struggle with what to do with these. Will I ever go through all of them again? Will my kids care about my time in Miami? Why was keeping my grade books so important to me? I love memories and have a hard time throwing something away that will trigger a memory, yet. . . it is taking up space. Thoughts to keep on pondering I guess. Perhaps when Gary and I downsize someday I'll need to get rid of these tubs. Right now my staff shirts from Camp Roger, my class schedules from Calvin, the copy of my first pay stub from my first real teaching job, my photo album from Turkey, and every program from all the plays I directed are safe and sound.
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