REFLECTIONS

March 19th, 2023

But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.

1 Thessalonians 3:6

Childhood Memories

(Refreshed from the Archives of January 9, 2005)

Droopy eyes signaled a low-grade fever, but I stood ready to perform before an assembly of my elementary schoolmates. As a first grader my part in the program was to sing the English version of El Rancho Grande.

Who knows why I remember the episode. Except for singing through a bad cold, I recall nothing notable about the performance; and Mom took me straight home when the program ended. But today, I’m struck by how impressionable I was as a child and how even such trivial memories linger fondly these many years later. The creator of the program probably had no idea the memory might remain in the minds of the participants for a lifetime. At least for me it has.

Most often we are unaware of the impression we make in the lives of those around us. Sometimes great lessons are taught; sometimes memories are made, but lessons and memories shape lives. The program’s creator may have focused more on entertaining an assembly of children than making memories. And I certainly thought more about remembering the lyrics to the song than entertaining my schoolmates. So, when Jesus said, “You are the light of the world,” I wonder if He was encouraging us to pay attention to those around us. Impressions we leave on others make a difference.

We all have a part to play in God’s great plan however small it may seem; and the part will almost always connect to memories we leave on those around us.

So let’s make them good ones.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +www.reflectingthesavior.org.


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