Christmas Past -- Christmas to Come

Memories are a funny thing.  Often when I meet up with friends on Facebook from childhood or wherever, we have to walk down memory lane.  Christmas is a big holiday of memories.  Past the big reason for Christmas, Jesus obviously, Christmas is a time for families to create memories.

I still remember the look on Jody's face when he was standing outside my house in Midland on Christmas night -- it was snowing.  It was the first time he had seen snow on Christmas.  He was 27, I think, and he was like a little kid standing out there.

I remember 2 Christmases ago, Cade got his Thomas the Train set.  He looked over the balcony into the living room and said, "Mommy, there is a train down there!"  Of course that Christmas is also a big memory maker in that my mother, father, Jody and me were sicker than dogs.  We had chicken broth and crackers for Christmas. We had to go find somewhere open to buy them and were all green.  (ok, so some memories are not all that good.)

Memories come to us in so many ways.  My grandfather always wore Old Spice.  It is a generic smell, really, but it always brings me comfort.  Of course my grandmother always wore White Diamonds and my sinuses hated the smell -- but that is a different story.

This past Friday and Saturday was another big walk down memory lane for me.  I was at Camp Chrysalis for the Upper Elementary Advent Retreat.  Chrysalis holds so many memories for me that just to walk on the campsite makes my spirit dance.  I remember building a wall outside of cabin 2, I remember laying outside cabin 8 (which is not there anymore) and watching a huge thunderstorm roll in on my birthday.  I remember countless places that I had devotion time and even what they were about.  I have had so many God moments at Chrysalis over the years that even to have the opportunity to pass those God moments onto a new generation just makes me happy.

When I walked out onto the Chapel porch and remembered all the nights of devotions with Staff in Training and Counselor in Training, I almost cried.  They were tears of joy but that exact place was where I have felt closest to God so many times in my life.

So often in life, we want to "make memories."  We want to have traditions that can take us from year to year. More than that for me, though, it is the little things in life.  The little giggles I get from weird experiences, the moving God moments of my life that at the time didn't mean much but still make my spirit dance.

What are the little things in your life that bring back memories?  Maybe they did not mean much at the time but when you revisit those places, smells, tastes you can feel your spirit dance.  It is a cool feeling.

AMEN