Oh The Things I Remember

     It's a curse. Ok so maybe  it's a blessing. But I seem to remember the oddest things.  Like when I was a little kid and my cousin had a hairline fracture.  I looked really hard and I just couldn't figure out how a broken hair could cause her to need a cast on her leg!
     Or how about the time I was 4 years old and threw dirt in the air and it landed in my little sister's just washed hair.  I said I didn't do it but mom told me that the ole booger man would come get me if I lied. Boy. It didn't take long before I was imagining the devil coming up through the ground and grabbing me and poof!  I would be gone!  The sun was setting (yeah I remember that too) as I confessed my sin to mom and escaped eternal damnation.
     Then there was the time we were watching an Elvis Presley movie. My dad wasn't real excited about it and made the comment that Elvis had a hole in his head. Of course that was just meant to be a jab at the king so dad could change the channel. But my heart just hurt for poor Elvis with that awful hole in his head.
     Growing up with a creek in the back yard, summer days often ended with a swim. One day inparticular, and I just raised my feet off the floor as I type this, after the swim I sat on a red wagon that was turned on its side.  Hot dogs were for dinner that night. As I took a bite, I rocked the wagon back and forth. One of those times I looked down. There it was. A tiny snake coiled up right under the wagon, directly under me!   Pretty sure I walked on air getting away from it. And I think of it still today as there is a red wagon in the back yard this very minute, turned on its side.
     I could seriously go on and on. Like the time I thought Hank Williams Sr died while I was watching a show he was in on tv. I went to my parents in tears to tell them. I can still feel that lump in my throat. That's when I found out he had actually died years before I was even born and I was just watching a movie about his life.
     Ok so maybe instead of having a good memory, my brain is a little warped. Either way, it's a fun way to look at life.  Of course I have some serious memories, too.
     Like I remember the rocks under my feet as I stepped into the creek the day I was baptized at age 9. (I also remember the other  little girls laughing as I came up out of the water because my cute little green dress flipped up as I went under the water.)  But I knew the Lord told me it was time and I was very serious about what I was doing.
     I remember the poor guy walking next to me at my high school graduation. I sobbed as he did the typical guy scoffing in response to my emotions. But I also remember the sense of accomplishment and wonder all rolled up in one that totally overtook my thoughts that night.
     I can tell you what I was wearing 28 years ago this past Monday as I met my then future husband. (I wore blue pants, a white short sleeved blouse and blue vest. He wore black jeans and a red shirt.)  I can still hear him counting to 10 over and over as I delivered each of our babies and he coached.  They say a mother forgets the pain after she gives birth. Well that's not really true. At least not for me. But I also didn't forget how immediately head over heels in love I was with each one of those sweet bundles. Part of me wanted to keep them just like they were. Part of me wanted to know right then what they would grow up to be.
     Whether it was remembering watching my dad's face as he saw the ocean for the first time at the age of 42, or the sounds of my children's giggles from what seems like only yesterday, I really don't mind at all what people think about my goofy memory. You know....it's not a curse after all. It really is a blessing.
   

Never

      "I would never!"  Boy.  I've said that a few times. How about you?  Probably the most eaten words ever spoken.  Boiled, fried, baked or grilled, they usually taste just the same.  Dry and flavorless and hard to swollow. 

     One of my 'I would nevers' happened last week. Having a backyard pool since 2002 has been wonderful. Sure it was an above ground pool and not fancy. But it was huge and great for family fun. I even swam a mile in it one day a few years back!  Other people would talk about how much work their pools were and how they wished they didn't even have a pool. I couldn't even imagine!  How could someone even think that?  I would NEVER! 

      Now it's gone. No more boys jumping off the roof in their underwear when parents are at work. No more brothers irritating sister with cannonball after cannonball. No more backyard full of kids celebrating birthdays. But it's ok. Time for a new era.  And new landscaping! 

      Sometimes when we say 'never' it's because we are judging someone else's actions.  We would NEVER do what they are doing. Thing is, we haven't walked in their shoes. We can't really say never unless we tie on their sneakers and go for a jog.

      Recently I had to eat a really big never.  Crazy thing, I had said over and over that I would never. There was no way. Then, out of the blue, I felt God leading me to do what I said I would never do. With some big time praying I finally realized my "I would never" had to be replaced with a "yes Lord".  Pride needed to be done away with and obedience had to take its place. The results?  Well they are still happening. But truth and healing have been a big part of it all.  And I'm looking forward to seeing what else God has planned. It's rough some days. But I know it will be worth it. 

     There was a man many years ago who said never. His name was Peter. He said he would never deny Jesus. But he did. Then he realized what he had done. And Peter spent the rest of his life proving his love for our Savior.  I love that story. Sometimes Peter reminds me of someone.....someone I see in the mirror. 

     Do you have any  nevers?  How did they get that way?  Fear?  Hurt?  Good intentions?  Pride?  I'm learning that some of my nevers are really opportunities.  Until recently, I never would have thought of them that way.