Has this ever happened to you? You start cleaning out a closet and happen upon old photos, notebooks, or prayer journals and suddenly your 30-minute project turns into an entire afternoon?
Running across old keepsakes is one of those situations for me where everything stands still and I'm transported back in time. I'll sit on the floor for hours looking through letters my best friend and I exchanged in 6th grade or pictures from family vacations 20 years ago.
Reminiscing serves to remind me of special people and experiences in my past. It shows me the many ways I'm blessed, and makes it clear to me that God has been there for me time and time again throughout my entire life.
I'm facing a bit of a predicament, though. If reminiscing is so special and valuable to me, why don't I do it more? What's keeping me from reminiscing on a regular basis rather than waiting for enough junk to collect in a closet to motivate me to open up those old boxes?
I want to find a way to build it into my life more, this business of reminiscing. I think it used to happen more in days gone by, maybe around kitchen tables after Sunday church. Maybe on front porches in the early evening as the sun was setting. Maybe in the middle of the grocery aisles or on the sidewalks or at the park while pushing swings with smiling children. I think our fast-paced culture, live-in-the-moment mentality has expanded so much that little things like reminiscing get bumped out.
In my own life when I can't seem to part the Red Sea of toys to make a path to the door or when I struggle to find enough counter space to prepare a snack because of all the dishes piled up, reminiscing is quickly bumped to the low-priority list if it makes it on the list at all! What can I do to promote reminiscing but avoid getting lost for hours in old photos?
What ideas do you have? How do you reminisce?
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