REMEMBERING THE FIRST TIME BEFORE IT FADES TO BLACK

It's relatively easy to remember the first time we did something.  Like riding a bike, trying to swim, puckering up for that first kiss.  You get the idea. 

But, it's not nearly as easy to remember when the LAST was.  Like when was the last time you lifted one of your children into the air.  Let me see.  I can remember.  It was when they were, aahhh........oh yeah, it was aaahhhhh.  Gosh, I'm not sure now.  And why is it, that I can't.   After all, isn't a memory like that one you'd think I'd have instant recall to.  It's that way with all three of my boys.  I didn't stop flinging them into the air at the same time.  It was one, then another and then last.  There was no least too it.


How could you not remember this?
 

These questions are not meant to spin you into depression.....rather reflection.  I've thought long and hard.....squeezing as much as I can out of my memory to recall those early images.  But they're not there.  If I had known that my final toss was going to be the last with my kids  I'm sure I would have savored the moment for a long, long time.  It's probably more accurate that we remember things that we know are final.   Like graduating from school or retirement.   But it makes me wonder.  Was the last fling anything special?  Was the fact that the boys were getting "too old" or "too big" a factor?  Were there any giggles or laughs or chuckles, or did it just seem like it was time to move onto something else.....

Think about some other lasts.  When was the last time your child slipped into bed with you?  How about the final time playing catch in the backyard?  Remember horsey?  Maybe not.  Then there are events when they get a little older in life.  The last time fishing together.....hunting.....golfing....going  to  a ball game, a show, putting together a puzzle or playing dolls.  How about a walk?   Read any books with your child lately?  And then you wonder why it's been said before... appreciate these moments.  They come all too quickly and then they're gone.  But just because some of these activities are no longer something that you can do together, that doesn't mean you can't make new memories....with different experiences.    

Now, let's move that into the marriage equation.   Remember the first date?  Holding your spouse's hand the first time?  Recall how sweaty your hands were?  How about the realization there was a certain intoxicating scent ( a cologne or fragrance) that you'd never smelled before.  And the first kiss?   How....in God's green earth could you ever forget these?   There might be a difference here though.  These memories DIDN'T  or DON'T have to fade.  They can be as ever present as the very first time.  Next week, make a date with your spouse and redo the ideas above.  Live a little and remember a little.  Go and have some fun already.

Work?  Any thing you want to relive there?  Sure you can.  Think of how motivated you were when you first began your adult life.  You had a myriad of ideas.  You thought outside the box. Weren't afraid of a challenge.  Took risks.  But then you get burned.  Maybe.  Or perhaps it was something else.  Whatever it was, it took some of the wind out of your sails.  You became less motivated, less involved and less happy.  It's not too late no matter what your situation.  If your career is less than challenging, find some where to serve.  Give back and appreciate seeing others smile.  Your rewards might just be there.

And how about your relationship with God?  Gosh, I remember the first time I realized Jesus died for me and how overcome with emotion I was.  I'll never forget that day.  I felt like he lifted me up over his shoulders as high as could be.  It was a high flying experience.  Much like what my boys must have felt like when I did the same thing.  Since then.... I've been up and down.  Being all in and being all down, but not out.  It's been a process, one where I've learned patience, how to deal with pain and suffering and appreciation for what God has in store for me.  And what about the first sermon you heard?  Remember that?  And I should also ask you, and how about your last? 

Our firsts with God will never be a faded memory to Him.  He will forever be there,  being there for those that see and waiting for those that have forgotten.

YGG,

John

  "It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."-Genesis 9:14-16