Moving

It is amazing the stuff you find when you move. I'm not the one moving right now though, my parents are. However it is amazing all of the stuff of mine that has been found. Things from my childhood that my parents have been keeping, things from my school days, things from when I first got married and didn't have room to bring them with me just yet. Of course there were some things that I knew were at their house but other things I had completely forgotten about or didn't realize that mom had kept. I say mom....actually mom and dad. They are both sentimental and dad purposefully kept some things for me as well.
Childhood toys such as my Barbies (along with their house and car) and my favorite baby dolls (along with their baby furniture). There was an entire family that I had (The Heart family) with a mom and dad, baby girl and baby boy. Mom had kept all of the little pieces in little bags or containers. Of course I don't have a daughter but there are some things that I will hang on to just in case there someday is a granddaughter. Of course that will be a long time from now but I can still plan, right?
Then there was things from school - report cards, papers, annuals, special certificates and trophies. At one point I had tossed most of the trophies because I reasoned that there was no where to store them. However, dad spared them from the trash. And now I'm actually glad I'll have them to show the boys now that they are in school and can appreciate them. The annuals were so funny to look through - my, oh my, how we have changed. We thought we were so grown up back then and when I look at those pictures I realize how young we really were. There were also book reports I had written, notebooks with my notes from class and otherwise, as well as some of my old books. Why did my parents kept my health book from Junior High? Still not sure.
I found birthday cards, Christmas cards, and friendship cards from Junior High and High School. I had forgotten about some of the dramatic things that seemed really important back then. A good lesson in "this too shall pass". I hope I learned it! I found graduation cards as well as my cap and gown. One of the graduation cards was from my Memaw who passed away eight years ago. It was good reading those words again that she was proud of me. I remember the feelings of graduation day....such freedom and excitement about the future. Although I am eleven years past that point, I have to admit that I still have anticipation and excitement for what God has planned in my future.
I found journals from the times that I went on mission trips. I had forgotten some of those experiences but reading through the journals brought back so many memories. I read through journals and Bibles I had written in from sermons that my dad or other evangelists had preached. I am sure all that writing helped seal those Biblical lessons into my heart and mind. I found cards and letters that Jason had given to me when we first started dating. I found the little cards that came with the flowers that he sent me on our first date, our first Valentines, etc. I am so thankful that with everything we've been through in almost eleven years of marriage that we still have that friendship and love. And it is so much stronger.
It makes me think of the times in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament, when something BIG would happen and the children of Israel would build an altar and name the place so that they could remember. There are many important things for us to remember. Sometimes it is the good times, good experiences, good relationships that make us smile at the remembrance. Sometimes it is the difficult times, the hard experiences, the lost relationships that we can look back and thank God that he helped us through or taught us something important. And maybe the moving helps us to dust all that off and remember.