Cleaning House

Good people leave memories that bless us, but the wicked are soon forgotten. (Proverbs 10:7)

Someone once said that history is nothing more than a bunch of collected memories. I think this might just be true. Memories are the things left behind - good or bad - that will live on in the lives of others. We don't control the memories another makes, but we can influence them with the way we live our lives. We might think all the memories we have formed over a lifetime don't amount to much but take another look at the moments that made those memories and I bet you will find they mattered!

Good people leave memories that bless others. Learn to be a blessing to others and you will be creating all kinds of good memories that will live on long after you are no longer with those individuals. We might find a mixture of good, not so good, and in between memories have formed over the course of our lifetime. The ones you probably enjoy the most are the good ones. I remember the first time I held my children in my arms. I remember their glee at their first steps. I remember their proud moment of walking the graduation line to receive their diplomas. All good memories have a way of bringing joy to one's heart.

The bad ones - what about the ones that didn't quite 'bless us'? I know we all have them. I recall the screeching tires and the jolting thud of being rear-ended. I remember to news of my dad's fatal heart attack. If we are truthful here, we all have those memories that jolted us to the core. Hopefully we don't dwell on those memories as much as we do the ones that bring us joy. If we have a hard time letting go of the bad memories, we need to ask God to help us with that task. We might not realize how much they 'squelch' the good ones just beckoning to be freed. 

God's plan is for us to allow our minds (that includes our memories) to be renewed. That means he doesn't want us keeping all those tragic, not so thrilling, and sometimes quite painful ones around. Why? They will have a negative influence on us over and over again until we let him take away their sting and eventually take away their place in our memory bank. I am not saying we need to be 'Polly-anna' in our thinking, but we need to let God clean house within our mind's memory bank. When he does, there will be lots more room for the better memories! Just sayin!