1 Chronicles 16:11-12  Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.  Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

The other day I had an unexpected surprise.  It was a typically busy day with lots to do and not enough time to do it all.  In the midst of this I went to get a document I needed and it wasn’t where I thought it was.  So I had to hunt for it.

The search took on a life of its own.  I knew it was in the office but the issue was where.  (Those who know me have heard of my Prego filing system -“It’s in there.”)  While going through a stack of stuff that I hadn’t looked at in quite awhile, I encountered the surprise.  No it wasn’t money – but in some ways it was even better.  It was a stack of pictures from years ago.  Needless to say, I stopped my search and sat down and looked at the pictures.

The joy I experienced in savoring each one.  Our sons growing up, dogwood trees in bloom at our home in Peninsula, grandbabies, being with friends, trips to Brazil…  Some of the pictures were more special than others because of the memories and good times they linked to.  They were like a doorway into a gallery of memories – of treasured experiences that had not been thought of for too long.

One common theme running through so many of the pictures was the goodness of God to Donna and me.  Yes there have been difficult times, stressful situations and all the other stuff of life – but through it all and overshadowing it all has been the presence and blessing of our Lord.

How good and powerful it is to remember Him and the things He’s done – in our lives and throughout history.  The wonderful memories develop hearts of gratitude and strengthen our faith!  How good it is to recognize Him in the midst of everything.  We can become so blind that we don’t see the forest for the trees.  He is with us, intimately involved in every aspect of our lives.  We are never alone.   We need to recognize just how important it
is to seek Him – to regularly set aside time to remember what He’s done and treasure Him and the memories we have of Him.