Memories

I was thinking about memories today. Memories are funny things. It's one thing when you stop and think about events in your past, but when they pop up unexpectedly, it can be a little unsettling. I think of those kind as screen savers for the mind. When I'm not really thinking of anything in particular, suddenly, I'm back in my childhood, or on an old family vacation, or whatever. I'm guessing God put them there to keep us from completely shutting down, or slipping into a coma. I could be wrong though.

The memories that baffle me though, are the little snippets of the past that don't make any sense. I have several that are recurring. I'm still no closer to figuring them out. There's one with a baby in a diaper, looking out a storm door, crying loudly. I have no idea what this means. It could be something that was very traumatic at the time, and burned itself into my mind. I wish the rest of it would've hung around. I have several more that are a little disturbing, from my childhood, but I won't go there right now. I'm pretty sure I had an undiagnosed mental disorder as a child.

I love to think back on all the good things that have happened in my life. I also try to forget the bad stuff, but memories aren't always so easily forgotten. Some bad memories can actually be helpful. We can learn from our past mistakes.

As good as memories are, we can't live in our past. We have to stay focused on our present, and prepare for our future.

As the Bible says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Past, present, and future.