Living memories

I was down in Waterford and decided to take a stroll down memory lane. My grandparents used to live on Pleasure Beach. I have many fond memories of going to their house when I was a little boy. I would fish off the rocks. I would catch crabs in the shallow water inlet. I would walk up to the little market and buy candy and gum. I enjoyed sitting out on their porch in the large swing.

As I drove down the street I was alive with anticipation. I hadn't been by the house in nearly twenty years. As I turned the corner and came down Valley Street, I was quite disappointed. Everything seemed much smaller than I had remembered. The house was not nearly as stately as the image in my head. It was not as well kept as when my grandparents lived there. I headed away with the realization that you really can't go back.

It is funny but a lot of people have memories of church from when they were young. Some are good and some are bad. These memories either disappoint us when we return or they keep us from coming back. The truth is that church today is going to be different than it was back then. Life has changed and we are different people today.

The good news is that God doesn't change. He still loves you and me and God wants to walk with us through life. Whether God reconnects with us through contemporary music or the long used rituals of our faith, through something remembered or something totally new, it is the same God who was there at your birth. He has watched your every moment with the joy of a loving parent. The important thing is not what you remember but what it means to you today.

I hope you will come home this Christmas. Let God love you and bless you. In doing so you can make new memories for you and your loved ones to carry forward.

Cal