PREPARATION

An old Gaither song is still one of my favorite "message" songs: "We have these moments to hold in our hands and to touch as they slip through our fingers like sand. Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come, but we have these moments today."

Nostalgia is not the goal, but the collection of memories is.

Truth is we all collect memories, but at times we're not sure where we put the collection. Everyone has a unique stash. Even though two people may share the same experience or event, their memories of that shared moment will be different. At a baseball game, for instance, one youngster may remember the non-hitter, the other the four hotdogs.

Our memory is not like a computerized database. We rarely recall the story exactly like it happened. Once something enters our brain, it's filtered by our expectations, our past, our values, and our context of the moment. Memories are generated by events and emotions. They are collected because they shape and reshape our identity.

Our collection of personal memories come attached to stories and that's a good thing. It's the stories that help us remember the facts and feelings. Our stories reveal who we are and what's really important to us. In fact, all our stories are really chapters in our faith journey.

So, keep your collection close.

INSPIRATION

Arthur Gordon, a past editorial director for Guideposts, tells a wonderful story of a real conversation between a father and daughter on the eve of her wedding. They sat together on the porch steps. It seemed to be a magical moment, a serious conversation without distraction.

They talked of love and life.

"Love is a lot of little things, a few that don't have much glitter, but an importance that grows..." he said. "Coming home to somebody when the day is ended--or waiting for somebody to come home to you. Giving, or getting, a word of praise when none is really deserved. Sharing a joke that nobody else understands. Planting a tree together and watching it grow. Sitting up with a sick child. It's remembering anniversaries, sharing disappointments and sorrow, and a gradual acceptance of limitations."

"Are you talking about loving or living," she asked?

"You'll find there's not much of one without the other."

"When...when did you learn that?"

"Quite a while before your mother died. Better go on to bed now, baby. Tomorrow's your big day."

She hugged him tight and whispered, "Oh, Daddy, I'm going to miss you so?"

"Nonsense," he replied. "I'll be seeing you all the time. Run along now."

But after she was gone, he sat thee for a long time, alone in the moonlight.

What a conversation. She will remember a wonderful porch-talk about love and life with the man who gave her both. He will remember a lifetime of stories pouring out in a moonlight celebration.

MOTIVATION

It's past time to share stories with someone new. That's the challenge for the week: Pick a person, find the place, and share conversation filled with stories. You may find yourself sharing experiences that have never been told and some that have been hidden away for years. That's good!

The first step is to make a list. List the stories in your collection and keep that list close because you will find yourself adding to it as the days go by.

Have you ever wondered why those lists of "begets" are in the Bible? It's the outline for the storyteller to use in telling the stories that lead up to Jesus.

Your stories lead up to Jesus too.

Yes, they do!