Ingrid Simmonds
Memories Make the Heart Smile
I found this map recently that shows all the road trips our family took over 25 years together. I’m also going through old scrapbooks. I’ve created probably 40 scrapbooks over the last 37 years. None of my children want them particularly. I know they would love some of the photos for memories. So I’m sorting and organizing old photos and taking them out of scrapbooks and throwing scrapbooks away. As I’m doing this I’m thinking what was the point of doing all this? I thought I would look back on them often and reminisce about the trips we took and the good times. But rarely do I or the kids sit down and look at them. And I think why did I spend all this time and money only to throw them away someday? It seems pointless. But is it?
What is a map? A map is a visual aid that shows you where you started from, all the places you pass through and shows your final destination. What is a scrapbook? Noah Webster defines a scrap as a small piece of history. So a scrapbook is blank book that you put small pieces of history in such as newspaper clippings, tickets or old photos. It’s a visual journal of sorts of a reminder of all your history and what you’ve been through over the years.
Are we given a blank book at the beginning of our lives? Is it up to us to fill the scrapbook of our life with clippings and photos that remind us of our beginning of how far we’ve come? The Bible is our map of sorts to show us our beginning and how we handle each stop along the way until we get to our destination. They are both reminders of our past and our present and our journey to show to future generations. It’s a family history of sorts. What message does your scrapbook and each chapter in them tell about you?
A scrapbook also, shows the high points and low points in our lives. It is a collection of times to cherish and times of heartache to preserve. Every picture has a story to tell.
The pages in the pages of my scrapbook have developed deeper and changed, in the same manner as me. In the early pages, it was all about having basic colors and patterns, correlating with my beginnings. Towards the middle of my life, designs become more detailed as I grew and learned more. The pages become much more expressive with more depth, expressing my maturity as a believer over the years. While both styles are distinctly different, they’re both still me and show the process of growing as a Christian and moving closer to my destination. My spiritual map shows my journey also. Nobody’s scrapbooks or maps are alike and that’s the beauty of life. I am a scrapbook or collage of what God has done in my past, my present, and what I hope my future to be with Him.
