Memories 

   The older I get the more my past comes to mind.  I’m retired and no longer in the day to day rat-race of life.  My only concern now is to be able to say with Paul, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4: 7)

   In my mind I relive the joys of my life.  The night my wife accepted my proposal and the day we became one in marriage.  The time I held our first child, a new life created by God and the love between us.  The time I first held each of our other children, more lives to love and try to properly raise, four in all.

   I recall the Sunday afternoons on the Bell family farm.  The great food I can still almost taste and the beauty of just sitting and enjoying a quiet day in the country.  One of my fondness memories is of Christmas at my grandmother’s house, visiting with cousins I rarely saw otherwise.

   I remember my wife walking into my office one morning and asking, “How would you like to go to Paris this weekend?”  She had found a special deal and wanted to go, so we did.  I remember our visit to Italy; Rome, and the papal mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica.  So many wonderful memories of our life together.

There are also the memories of the sins I have committed over the years.  Sins forgiven by a merciful God but still called to mind to remind me that I must always be on guard against Satan.  Sins forgiven to remind me of the love of a forgiving God, a Savior who died on the cross for me.

   These memories allow me to quietly bask in the good times, the many blessings God has bestowed upon me.  They also remind me of how easy it can be to slip away from God, following the path Satan would have me follow.  They were all part of God’s plan for me.  A plan that I don’t fully understand but one that will lead me to Him in the next world. 

I thank You for the many blessings.

I sorrow for the many sins.

May Your plan be fulfilled in me.

May I enjoy enteral life with You. 

Amen