|
Religious: Memory and vision
Rev. Sharon McRann
for South Peace News
Memories are a wonderful thing! They are what keep our traditions alive. They are what legacies are made of.
Memories remind us of where we have been and where we are going. Our history is full of memories.
And where do we keep all of these memories? Some are kept in books, and memoirs, in archives and museums and in China cabinets. Some are kept in our minds, some in photo albums, some in saved newspaper clippings and some are creatively kept in items such as memory quilts and songs.
Some people have a special place, perhaps a room of their own or a study where they keep memories. My home study or office is a room full of memories. I don’t think I intended it to be that way, but I decorated it with things that are most precious to me for various reasons and as it turned out, most of those things hold “precious memories” of one kind or another.
I have pictures of colleagues and friends from special moments in my past; a graduation, a special fun time, a picnic, a woman’s gathering, an outing at the lake. I have the first water colour I ever painted, framed and placed on the wall along with a plaque I made at a women’s retreat which says, “Because nice matters.”
I have a certificate that I received from the Caring Clowns group in Edmonton that visits children in hospitals. I have some stuffed animals and candles and ornaments that were given to me by people I love.
I have a few of my favourite gifts which were made for me by my sons when they were still little boys and an envelope of drawings that my grandchildren made for me. I also have a picture of me when I was about three years old and an autograph book that was signed by the girls at my CGIT camp in Grade 7.
Why do I keep these things around? Because there are memories attached to them. . .events and people I don’t want to forget.
One of our sons once told us that ours is a Grandma and Grandpa house. I think I was a bit insulted at the time and then I decided that was quite fine as we are a Grandma and Grandpa and we’re proud of our grandchildren. If he is correct though, then I might have to admit that the whole house is filled with memories of one kind or another.
Memories can be wonderful; however, we don’t want that to be all our life is about. Life also needs to be about vision. When entering one room of the church, someone made the observation that it gave the impression that we were living in the past because there was nothing in it that pointed to what was happening now or what we hoped would happen in the future. God encourages change and new life.
Sunday’s reading from Isaiah 43 says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
If all we ever do is live in the past, it can become like a wasteland. . .never exciting, never new. However if we see things in a new light or do a new thing, we become enlivened and hopeful. We create even more memories.
Some people hang on to the past for dear life because they are afraid of what the future might bring. I think God wants us to enjoy our memories and let them inform our future through dreams and visions of a better tomorrow.
What in the past worked? What was good and what didn’t seem to work very well? What from the past will inform and help our future generations? What needs to be changed in order to meet their needs?
These are ongoing questions that need to be addressed in our own personal lives, in our society and in our churches. Along with dreams and visions there needs to be actions. In a world of increasing numbers of people and ever-increasing violence, acts of kindness just might make a big difference. Our seniors can be the memory keepers. . .the ones who pass on the memories with understanding, enthusiasm and suggestions for the future.
Our young people can carry on the vision with respect for the past and hope for the future.
Next week: Lay Minister Joseph L'Heureux.
< Previous
Home
|
