Sometimes
our minds run back through the years and yearn for that better time and
place—the “good old days.”
But for
some, the past harbors only bitter memories. Deep in the night, they ponder
their own failures, disillusionments, and fantasies, and think of the cruel
hand life has dealt them.
It’s
better to remember the past as David did, by contemplating the good that God
has done, to “meditate on all [His] works; . . . muse on the work of [His]
hands” (Ps. 143:5). As we call to mind the lovingkindness of the Lord, we can
see His blessings through the years. These are the memories that foster the
highest good. They evoke a deep longing for more of God and more of His tender
care. They transform the past into a place of familiarity and fellowship with
our Lord.
I heard a
story about an elderly woman who would sit in silence for hours in her rocking
chair, hands folded in her lap, eyes gazing off into the far distance. One day
her daughter asked, “Mother, what do you think about when you sit there so
quietly?” Her mother replied softly with a twinkle in her eye, “That’s just
between Jesus and me.”
I pray that our memories and meditations would draw us into His presence.
of happiness now and forever. (RBC)
