Struggling with loads of laundry, clutter in the kitchen and chaos in your life? Stress can easily steal our joy. Trish Berg reminds us to simplify the small stuff and find Joy in the Journey.
Sometimes the memories of my youth feel like distant thunder rolling over the hills in the background of my life. I remember when we popped popcorn on the stove top by shaking the Jiffy pop pan over a red hot burner as fast as our hands could move, trying hard not to burn the kernels on the bottom. I remember when there were no VCRs let alone DVRs and we had to watch The Wizard of OZ when it was actually on TV.
I remember eating TV dinners with my dad in the basement as we watched MASH on TV, and somehow I found a way to swallow those not-quite-cooked mashed potatoes and mystery meats. I remember making kites out of garbage bags with my dad, sledding on grandmas hill and ice-skating with my mom.
I remember when the best snack in the world was peanut butter spread on an apple slice and the best time was anytime I was with my family.
My memories do thunder in the distance, and it makes me wonder what my own children will remember when they are grown and gone.
Will 2012 be the year my oldest child gets her drivers license (she is hoping for that one)? Will we get snowed in? We will build a snowman in the yard? Go sledding on the hill only to rush in for hot cocoa and marshmallows with cold, red noses and wet toes?
Will spring bring mud or flowers or both? Will summer vacation be relaxing or will we travel to the ends of the earth on a road trip?
Thats the great thing about embarking on a new year – we have no idea what the future will hold for us. Some of it will be good, some of it might be bad, all of it will be real. Most of it will become memories we will hold onto for many years to come.
I know that our family has been immensely blessed in 2011, having four healthy kids and two sets of healthy grandparents is the biggest gift we could ask for. We have made new friends, found a new church home and have seen our children discover the world through the eyes of missionaries.
We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we do know Who holds our tomorrows. And maybe thats enough.
From the Jiffy pop popcorn to sledding on grandmas hill, my memories roll by and I can only imagine what my children will remember from 2012, the good, the bad, the blessings and the challenges. I guess there is something to be said for distant thunder, that rumbling of your memories through your mind to remind you what you cherish about today.
I dont remember Christmas gifts, money spent or things I possessed. What I remember are the relationships and the time I spent with the ones I loved the most.
I guess my prayer is that my children remember three things from 2012.
One – that life is a gift. Period.
Two – that the memories we are building now will become distant thunder for them, and someday, they, too, can remember.
Three – that popcorn and hot cocoa with marshmallows can solve almost any stress life can throw your way.
Happy New Year!
