Tomorrow, Today Will Be Just A Memory

Tomorrow, Today Will Be Just A Memory

3/1/12

This topic was introduced to me back in October of last year but it is not until now that I have been released to write about it.  The subject deals with yesterday and the memories that we have in our minds versus the reality of forgetting about these memories in present times in our lives.  It is hard for our human minds to really get a concept of time.  The only thing that we can actually understand is the present, what is happening now, the actual events that are immediately around us.  Tomorrow we do not know what will transpire and yesterday we can remember but we cannot give the accurate details of things that occurred.  However, when certain special occasions or other events occur at a specific point today, the minds triggers memories of the past.  This triggering of memories is actually a step in the process of restoration and becomes a valuable piece of connectivity with God.

Back last year my mother gave me a topic to consider writing on and to be honest I have struggled with this topic because I could not think of how to write about it.  I knew that it was a good topic that could deal with restoration and that it would be an excellent opportunity for another message.  I continued to keep this concept in my mind and when it would appear to me I still could not put it into words.  It was not until the day of my oldest daughter’s wedding that this concept became clear in my mind.  Interesting way of bringing a writing concept into play but God’s way of thinking is not always the exact way we see things unfold.

We as humans are exposed to many events during each day, and if asked about some of these events each one of us would have their own interpretation of them.  If you pool the interpretations together one can formulate a general event happening that should pacify everyone involved as to what happened.  Police perform this type of pooling when they are gathering evidence in a case.  However, there are certain times where only one person is witness to a situation and this interpretation of events is the only information that can be used. 

For a person who is trying to gather information it is difficult for them to really understand what is going on in another person’s world at this very same time.  So, why do we spend so much time worrying about or thinking about the past or in the future?  The past flies by us and most of the time we do not stop and think about it until another event rekindles those memories.  It is these events in our past that forms a bond with people and allows us to construct a relationship with the people involved.  So even though we forget about the details of the events of the past, the bonds still remain within our minds and to be more specifically our spirits.

Just a few centuries ago, humans believed that the world was flat and if a person ventures out to that edge he or she would fall off the earth and end up somewhere “off this world”.  Humans actually believed this concept and made laws against exploring areas that were unknown to the scholars of that era.  It is a simple idea to follow but at the same time it provided a foundation of information that still provides many with questions on another plane of investigatory objects, space and what is actually out there.  So, have we changed that much or have we just progressed a tiny fraction in our quest for answers.

We have since learned, with technology that the earth is round and that the earth revolves around the sun and with this motion and shape it gives us explanations of how the basic functions of the earth complete their duties.  As time advanced, more knowledge of more specific earth functions and movements have become known.  Both the scientist and the non scientist are amazed at how things are so precisely set into motion and if just one error in this motion occurs, the entire earth as we know it would probably explode or fly out of orbit and land in another part of the galaxy.  With the minute answers we have received, they have tied us together in such a unity with each other that we now are all affected by further discoveries and knowledge, which leads me to my point of the past and its knowledge for our own lives today.

My oldest daughter was married this week, in which as some of you may remember that this is the one who was never going to get married.  It was a beautiful ceremony with a few family and close friends present.  The wedding fittingly took place in a small mountainous community in an equally small and beautiful church.  Everything went according to plan, as weddings go, and all seemed perfect.  The day ended with joy and happiness as the bride and groom left the church in a shower of bubbles.

I know that everyone present at the ceremony had thoughts about past events about both the bride and groom.  We grandparents, parents and friends all have experiences with the wedding party and cannot help but remembering some of these events as time grew closer to the blessed day.  The same goes for the minister that performed the ceremony, which so happened to be the grandfather of the bride.  Dad, with more than fifty years of experience, can honestly say that weddings can turn out to be some of the more interesting events experienced.

Many ministers have the opportunity to marry their children but very few have the privilege to marry their grandchildren.  As all of us run through the memories of the wedding party, dad must have been flooded with thoughts throughout the day.  Any steps had been taken so that he could perform the ceremony.  A nagging knee and a major surgery loomed large in his sights that had to be completed before the wedding, then would come the therapy so that he could stand and complete the wishes of his granddaughter.

The wishes of his granddaughter….seems like a trivial matter to some but to a grandparent those wishes speak volumes to their ears and a process that a grandparent would not miss unless there is no other means around the situation.  Known differences in beliefs, attitudes towards other members of the family, travelling time, and other details could not keep him from performing the ceremony.  There is no way that I could accurately convey all of the thoughts that passed through dad’s head during this time, but I know one thing for sure that he was one of the proudest people in that church that day and no one can ever take that memory away from him.

Is this the last wedding dad will conduct, I do not know.  Will the upcoming district council be the last one he attends or will the next speaking engagement he gives be his last, I doubt it.  I do know that he can place himself in a top category of getting to marry a son and a granddaughter and that he wishes that his physical abilities keep him around to see other grandchildren complete this same ceremony.  But completing this ceremony actually placed footsteps in many lives this week.  The grace and forgiveness of God was portrayed through the ceremony and the strengthening of relationships through covenant means was accepted by all parties involved.  Whether they know it or not, and most will not realize this aspect, everyone that participated in the ceremony accepted the covenant that the bride and groom made and are now participants in that covenant.

Upon further examination, this process directly relates to the process of restoration.  It restores many memories of families’ lives that might have been forgotten.  It gives us a chance to jot things down once again so that our future generations understand exactly what is going on in the minds of others at this time, and isn’t getting to know someone better, a person that has been around in your life another prime example of restoration? 

Yes the cultural standards and beliefs of others may be different and hard to understand for some of us, but in the end the memories of our forefathers is one of the greatest treasures that a person has in life.  The same goes for God in the fact that He being the ultimate forefather in all of our lives, it is important to understand God in every way possible.  God will never vanish from existence or His influence over the earth as we know it, but there will come a time, some time in our lives where we are faced with a decision to make concerning God.  It is also important to understand that not all aspects of our children’s culture will be acceptable to our mindsets but we still need to identify with their ways so that we can relate to them when they come to us seeking advice or asking for guidance in decisions that they have to make.

It has been proven over and over that people who know God understand the importance of family and values not only for their individual lives but for societal morals as well.  The memories that we harbor inside our minds and spirit I believe will play a huge role in the future of the human race so it is vital that the memories that we place into our children’s hearts be ones of Godly interests and morally sound so that we know that God’s plan for the future of humanity continues to ring out to the world.

Yes, yesterday is a memory and will never be replayed exactly the same ever again, but tomorrow is the future and our roles in those events can repeat itself in other ways that will be burned into our children’s head for the remainder of their lives.  The next question that begs attention is what will be burned into their heads and what part of that burning will be yours?  What memories will they write down when their grandchildren get married or when they return home from serving their country overseas, or participate in some other account in the world’s events of that day?  When an event concludes with happiness amongst a diverse group of individuals the process of restoration has taken a step closer to becoming reality, and when one remembers the relationship that humans have with God Godly restoration resumes its corrective path to all of humanity.

DLB