[This is part of a series of posts we are doing as personal blog posts to feed your souls. Check out the rest of them here.]
The holidays are always a special time of year for me. The memories of Thanksgiving at Nannies with anywhere between 13 and 20 family members squeezed into her tiny house, and Christmas at Granddaddy and Grannies farm with the other side of the family all come flooding back with the first Christmas song I hear on the radio.
Emotions fly high as I think about some of the times we had and the memories that I will never forget. Like the time I finished an entire chess pie at Thanksgiving. By myself. No one realized that each time I went by the dessert table I was grabbing another slice until the pie was all gone and no one had eaten any of it! Or the championship that my dad and I won at one of the last Thanksgivings the whole family had together (You’ll have to be a part of the family for the whole story).
There were some great memories at Christmas on the farm too. I’ll never forget Granny yelling at all of the grandkids to get away from the piano, or the first time Granddaddy looked at me and asked if I would say the prayer before we ate. That had always been my dad’s job, but I was honored to do it.
Memories are great. Some are good and some are bad, but during the holidays they can put us around the table with our family one more time, even if we are hundreds of miles apart.
Now, I have a wonderful wife and son who I am blessed to spend the holidays with. Although this year has been a bit harder than previous years, new memories have been made. This year I spent Thanksgiving Day at Walmart, loading trampolines into people’s cars. Thankfully, my wife chose to drive twenty minutes away so I could at least see her and our son, instead of doing her shopping at the store two minutes from our house. I am thankful for her.
Sometimes, it is hard to give thanks. Maybe you lost your job this year, or you failed a class in school that you needed to graduate, or maybe someone you loved dearly is no longer with you. In those times memories and God’s word can help us.
Psalm 136 is a beautiful Psalm. Although the entire text is not written here, I hope you will go and read it soon. You will be glad that you did. The first verse says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” God’s love is not a memory that fades away over time. It will be with us forever.
This holiday season, I pray that you make great memories with your family. Everything may not be perfect, but you can still make a memory. Remember that God loves you, wherever you are, and his love will never fail you.
So sit back, think of a favorite memory, an enjoy the whole family being gathered around the table one more time.
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