Making memories

Today Taylor and Zachary spent the afternoon with "bops and nanny." The weather was so nice this afternoon we decided on an adventure of miniture golf and "CiCi" pizza.

The last time I played miniture golf was a really long, long, long, loooooooooooooooooooooong time ago. Taylor will be six next week and Zachary will be three in February.

Taylor's style was much more prim and proper except for her grip while Zachary just wanted to hit the yellow ball and run after it. They had a blast and that's the important thing. I want our four grandkids to have good memories of their "bops and nanny."

Recently I officated a funeral for a 96 year old lady that was a member of the church I pastored in the country near Mineral Wells. At the graveside several of her family members shared special memories of her life. I want our grandkids to have good and uplifting memories of their grandparents.

How are memories made?

Well, I'm no expert on the subject but I think they are made one at a time. The important thing tonight was not how much we spent on the evening or even where we went. I believe the important issue was that we spent time together having fun. Laughing together. Celebrating small victories like a "hole in one." By the way, each of us scored one "hole in one" during our game. The Bible tells us that "a cheerful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22).

We have been blessed with four special grandkids. Making memories takes time. It's like making a deposit or an investment in their future. The dividends on these investiments are not immediately obvious but over a life time they add up. Memories can be positive or negative. I want "bops kids" to have a million positive memories of their "bops and nanny."

As a Christian I believe we have a responsibility to make investiments in the life of others as well. It is easy when the "others" are people you like or enjoy spending time with. The hard part for me is remembering that making investiments in the lives of others is true whether the "other" person is loveable or not. I am so glad that Jesus did not wait to demonstrate HIS love for me until I became "loveable." In fact, the Bible tells me that even while I was a sinner God demonstrated HIS love for me by Christ dying on the Cross of Calvary (Romans 5:8 -- "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.").

While it's easy to invest in the lives of my grandchildren I believe God expects me to love others just as I love them. Obviously I've got a lot of work to do in that area on my journey called life.

Something to think about:

I wonder what kind of world we would live in today if every person on the planet would love God wholeheartedly and love their fellow man with the same kind of love they have for themself or their family.