“It was not homesickness,” my daughter began. “It was a sense of sweet memory that grabbed me and held me tight. Mom, suddenly, I wanted to be eight years old again.

“I was preparing breakfast for my family on a Sunday morning and suddenly I was frozen in time. I wanted to be at home, my home– with my mother and daddy and my siblings –getting ready for church on Sunday morning. I remembered how exciting Sunday mornings were; I loved to go. I loved to hear my daddy preach. I am not sure why, but all the comfort and security of being loved and in that home brought tears and an instant longing to “go home again”.

And I cried too, at the sharing in her moment.

But Thomas Wolfe says “you can never go home again.”

Some things in the world do stay the same– they are always home: the waves in their relentless pursuit to find the shore, the sun in its eastern morning trek to its western rest; the moon on its unbroken cycle. Multiple moments in life are steady and unchangeable; they calm our days –giving us security that all is well.

Last week I passed a vintage car from the 60’s. For a moment, I wanted to be a teenager again. I wanted to go back–to relive those unhurried, all important, carefree years.

Even though the beautiful now moments are peppered with sadness, anxiety, heartache–would I really want to go anywhere other than here, now? Memory is a beautiful gift–if we remember the good, the best of moments we were given.

The word “remember” is used again and again in the Bible to remind us to remember days, a covenant, the goodness and unfailing love of God. Remember, remember . . .We are reminded in Jeremiah 6 to remember the ancient paths; not only are we to ask for them, we are told to walk in them. And then in Isaiah 43 we are told to forget the former things and to be open to something new. Where is a balance in going home and being content in today’s moment?

To live content is to live in the moment, in the present. But how precious are memories, those tucked far away–. Sometimes we need to pull back the curtain, remembering sights and sounds-smells that hug us. And we smile; we feel secure–all is OK. Covered with a warm security blanket, we can re-enter our busy everyday world.

And always remember this . . .

We will remember we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give You praise
For great is Thy faithfulness.
You’re our Creator, our life Sustainer,
Deliverer, our comfort, our joy.
Throughout the ages You’ve been our shelter
Our peace in the midst of the storm . . .
(by Tommy Walker)

Remembering the best–forgetting the rest.