Memories are the Beginning of all our Thoughts

Turn on the news, open a newspaper and it isn’t difficult to see the evil in the world.  Pain and heartache meet humanity at every turn, sickness and poverty in every ally.  What do we do?   Would Life Be Better Without Memories?  This thought might come across people’s minds, including mine.  These thoughts could be triggered when a family member passes, your pet dies, or maybe when you think all is lost and it seems pointless to be living.  When bad things happen, we often allow ourselves to be taken over by discouraging thoughts, forgetting about the joy and happiness.  If there were no memories, sure, the pain would cease, but what we would have instead would be far worse.

            A world without memory is not an ideal world for man; God created us to prosper and have dominion over the earth.  When a young child touches a hot stove it learns not to do it again or he/she can expect that same outcome.  The thing occurs with more important circumstances such as the conflicts of different nations. Throughout history we have seen and studied what causes war and disputes.  If we focus on what caused these problems, we could see them in advance and avoid the pain and suffering. 

            A memory-less world would also have no joy.  Sure we enjoy the adventures and experiences in the moment, but how many times do we look back in the past to find joy?  Quite often.  Actually, memory allows the knowledge of what we enjoy, What causes a smile.  Not only is memory self serving, but it reminds us how to make others happy.  I like to play baseball, especially when I play well.  If I did not remember how to play I would not enjoy the game of baseball quite as much.

            Memories guide a person through our experiences with our everyday choices.  Without memories there would be no point in living life.  America in particular works because the people work to accomplish amazing task, knowing the purpose because they know where they’ve been before.  In the novel, The Giver, the citizens have no memory of the past and are governed by (The Elders) who tell the citizens what to do, such as who their family is and what their job is. The community is safe, but at what expense?  There is no point in living without the ability to make your own decisions, even if some of those are wrong.

            Bad things happen as a part of life.  People die, disasters occur, pain is devastating.  Life is too short to be bogged down on the negative, but without memory, the difficult times seem to never end.  After my Nana died, I could not lose all of the questions running through my head saying that I was not a good grandson.  It was not until I spoke with my mom, dad, and youth pastor who told me to look back at the wonderful memories I had with her that I started to feel better.  Now, three years later, all of those bad memories filled with sorrow have almost completely dissolved leaving only happy memories that we had shared together This happened because joy beats sorrow any day.

 

Yourself not Someone Else

Society, it is what we are thought to become.  Why do we find ourselves trying to be like those  around us.  I find many people and even some old friends that conform to be liked or accepted which changed them.  I even find my self doing it every now and then.  In this world, there are bad people and bad things that we must stay away from.  A true friendship is started when two people find a common thing between the two.  When this happens there is no changing to please or be accepted.  God made us in the perfect way for all of us cause he loves the way you are.  Once we accept him in our lives, he is our greatest friend where there does not have be a change to be loved, accepted, or liked.

A Perfect Utopia is not Posible

             In this world, there are people who think it would be great if there was a perfect utopia.  The truth is that it is not possible because the only utopia is heaven.  I think that a utopia would be great, but it would not hold together due to what society would wish to change.  As in the book of Genesis, The first earthly utopia was the Garden of Eden, God had designed it for his greatest creation (us) to dwell in with no hardships.  Then satin deceived Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, against God's only rule that he had set for them. God was furious that his children had disobeyed him and cast them out of the garden.  Since that time, every person has sinned except for Jesus.  The Garden of Eden was the only true utopia, but now that we have sinned, another is not possible until we reach heaven where we will live in peace and harmony.

Do You Have any Advice for Other Fishermen

 

"Do you have any advice for other fishermen?"
"You have to sneak up on them and catch them real fast. And you have to wear boots. I once caught a monster fish that went all the way up to the sky like a giant. I like giants. But not mean giants. I like nice giants."

          Recently I stumbled across a website called Humans of New York.  Some of you might be familiar with it but I was captivated with the photography and amazed at the candid responses.  This picture in particular caught my eye.  In this picture I don't just see a little boy with a fishing pole taller than he is, I see a boy who has a huge imagination.  In this photo, the blogger asks this little boy if he has any advice for other fishermen.  I thought it was funny and charming to see how fast this youngster switched from one topic to another.  He went from sneaking up and catching the fish real fast, to talking about the big fish he caught, to how he likes nice giants.  That radiant smile on his face also makes me smile; it shows that he loves to fish  just like me. 


If you want to see more Humans of New York just click the link below.  This award winning blogger has hundreds of postings, some being funny, giving great advice, or heart warming stories.

www.humansofnewyork.com

Everyone Is Equal In God's Eyes

             In this world there are many people who feel that they are worth nothing and have no reason to be here.  Our job as Christians, is to tell these people that God still cares for them and has created them for a reason.  In a world as complicated as ours, there are so many reasons people feel insufficient, so many difficulties and challenges we face, so often we are looking down upon our appearance.  One way that we can start helping hurting people is by sitting with the bullied kid or by being a friend to the disabled kid.
             On my baseball team, there is one guy who is a bit on the chunky side. His size makes it difficult for him to get on base when he hits the ball.  Because his size slows him down, it makes it impossible to steel a base.  I feel sad for him that he is unable to do as much as the rest of the team can.  I often imagine how he feels, and yet he is a great friend and always has a smile on his face.  He has great potential to be a great hitter because he definitely has the strength to crush the ball.  My team just needs to encourage him more and build up his confidence.
             Some time ago I went to a place called josephsamsschool.org where they help disabled children.  During my visit, I was amazed at what was being accomplished in that little building.  While I was there I made friends with kids who were so sweet, each with their unique little story. those kids were so sweet and all of them had there unique little story.  One of the students was from the teen section and loved to play and be with the younger children.  Even though he was mute and in a wheel chair, he was able communicate because this place provided him with a tablet-like device on which he could write and hear sounds, then show it to his friends.  This revolutionized this student's world and allowed him to learn and communicate.  When I left the building I was amazed.  I had come to this place to minister to the disabled, but I left feeling like they had ministered to me.

True abilities are shown through hardship

 

 

True abilities are shown through hardship 

 

          whenever I walk up to home plate with two outs, a runner on third, the game is at the bottom of the ninth, with a tied score, two strikes, one ball.  I find that those are the times when I have some of my greatest opportunities to shine.  Normally I shine best under pressure.  While playing  baseball, I am filled with pressure, not just from the scorn of the pitcher, but also from the parents in the bleachers, the coaches, and my team.  All those eyes watching me, knowing that my actions can decide the game.  Either I would be the final out, or the winning hit, no one knows what will happen next except God.  As the pitcher walks up to the mound, I envision two different sounds, the crack of the bat or the thud of the catcher's mitt.  Just before I step into the batter's box, I say a quick prayer that God will be with me, as he always is.  Then I see the ball coming and I take my swing, the same swing that I have been practicing all those  long hours at the batting cage. PING!  Suddenly I watch the ball find the gap in right field.  As I round first, my team shouting with excitement as I slide into second.  The game was over, with God by my side I  was grace under pressure.

 

 

Feel free to tell about when you shined.