The people of Israel stacked stones and I make photo albums. I’ve just spent time each day, for ten days, down-sizing photo albums. It has made me melancholy and 17 of my closest and dearest friends are getting envelopes from me with photos too precious to round-file. I condensed and am now looking at eleven empty albums. I will not admit to how many albums are left behind. I know that a year from now I will try again. Why do I pour over these reminders? I think I have always been sentimental. Can one be sentimental to a fault? I see my life as a formula. The early years are meaningful but I know that the most important thing I have ever done is to be a mother. I am not without other accomplishments but they pale by comparison. The time remaining is bonus time. That is the formula and timeline. I have been strongly encouraged by my children to digitize. I like paper, books, and photo albums. I’m not quite a dinosaur but I know they are right. I need to “simplify” so, in due time, there is not much left to deal with. I owe it to them as they build their own families, and thus, the family history will move on from what I thought was so special. God commanded His people to build memorials. In Joshua 4:1-8, God commands the people to cross the Jordan River. He has made that possible by a great miracle. Each of the twelve tribes pick up boulders from the riverbed (where they would have perished without God’s intervention) and in Gilgal they build a memorial to honor God’s good will toward them. There are numerous examples of memorials along the way. What do we memorialize? Maybe look in our crowded garages? What we keep we value. I will say that in my last move, from a home I had lived in for 23 years, the only new piece of furniture I acquired was a custom-built tall bookcase with custom shelf height for these precious memories. I guess I know that when I am gone my memories are too. These memories have been sources of sweet joy, the strength of my life, and have kept me healthy and in check. Yes, that is a tall order. So, in advance, I am apologizing that I agonized over tossing even a single blurred photo. I am hopeless and God has given me such a wonderful life. I have experienced His care and protection from those who did wish to do me harm and angels have surrounded my children. I don’t mean to sound vain in that but just confident that God is sovereign, and will continue so. He cannot help Himself and neither can I.
