Making Memories
Over the last several years, my wife and I have been using this expression, "Making memories" as an encouragement to each other to live life to the fullest; to take advantage of opportunities to experience things, together and with others, that we might otherwise choose to pass up. Sometimes we get so caught up with our ruts and our routines that we miss chances to share a moment... an hour... a day... or longer with someone, that may turn into a memorable moment for a lifetime.
This morning was one of those times when I had to be encouraged to "make the memory".
My alarm went off at 4:50 AM. I had not slept well and had been mostly awake anyway for several hours. The early rising was because this is July 4th - and if you're a runner in Atlanta, that means it's also Peachtree Road Race day! The problem was, it was raining... hard. And according to the radar and the weather forecast, it wasn't going to change much over the next 6-8 hours. Shortly after the alarm went off, I said to my wife, "Sometimes living life and making memories can be exhausting!" Her reply was something to the effect of, "You can do this, you're going to have a wonderful time."
Had this been a solo endeavor, I would most likely have turned off the alarm and gone back to sleep. Fortunately, though, this was the second consecutive year that one of our daughters and I were running in the Peachtree together. We have been "running buddies" for several years now, each taking our turns at having to motivate the other to get out and run when we otherwise would rather not. I confess to thinking, "OK, if Michelle at all opens the door to sitting this out and bagging the whole thing due to the weather, I'm running right through it!" Alas, she did not open that door, and off we went. I sit here now, so grateful that door was not opened because every one of the memories made were worth every bit of rain-soaked fun we had! The memories of the crazy outfits seen, the subway rides, and the sheer joy (yes, I said "joy"!) of running more than six miles together in a driving rainstorm would have been enough. But then there was that encouragement... that back and forth conversation of, "You doing OK?", "We're almost at the top of the hill!" and "You're doing great, you've got this!" And the laughter - lots of laughter. I wouldn't trade these memories for a little extra sleep or dry clothes any day of the year.
So... what does all this have to do with Living Unfiltered for God? A lot, I believe. When we hear The Father's voice, he wants us to obey. He wants us to act. Quite often, that means getting out of our comfort zones. Getting out of bed on a rainy holiday morning, even. Jesus said in John 10:10 that he came so that we could "have life and have it to the full". That sounds like making memories! Do something a little uncomfortable or outside of your normal routine. "Blessed, rather, are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28). Obedience leads to blessing. Choosing to live life - to make a memory - leads to blessings, too.
When all is said and done, what story do you want to tell? The one where you could have done all of these interesting and fun things, but you decided not to? That you thought you heard God prompting you to do something, but you didn't act on it? Or... do you want to tell the story of how you got up before dawn to spend a morning travelling to and from an event where you spent an hour running in a rainstorm with your daughter - enjoying every single moment of it? Or that you trusted God enough to do the thing He asked you to do and you were blessed beyond measure by what resulted? I know what story I chose today, and I'm so glad I did.
Let me encourage you... Make those memories. Listen to His voice. And be prepared to be blessed beyond anything you could ever ask or imagine.
This morning was one of those times when I had to be encouraged to "make the memory".
My alarm went off at 4:50 AM. I had not slept well and had been mostly awake anyway for several hours. The early rising was because this is July 4th - and if you're a runner in Atlanta, that means it's also Peachtree Road Race day! The problem was, it was raining... hard. And according to the radar and the weather forecast, it wasn't going to change much over the next 6-8 hours. Shortly after the alarm went off, I said to my wife, "Sometimes living life and making memories can be exhausting!" Her reply was something to the effect of, "You can do this, you're going to have a wonderful time."
Had this been a solo endeavor, I would most likely have turned off the alarm and gone back to sleep. Fortunately, though, this was the second consecutive year that one of our daughters and I were running in the Peachtree together. We have been "running buddies" for several years now, each taking our turns at having to motivate the other to get out and run when we otherwise would rather not. I confess to thinking, "OK, if Michelle at all opens the door to sitting this out and bagging the whole thing due to the weather, I'm running right through it!" Alas, she did not open that door, and off we went. I sit here now, so grateful that door was not opened because every one of the memories made were worth every bit of rain-soaked fun we had! The memories of the crazy outfits seen, the subway rides, and the sheer joy (yes, I said "joy"!) of running more than six miles together in a driving rainstorm would have been enough. But then there was that encouragement... that back and forth conversation of, "You doing OK?", "We're almost at the top of the hill!" and "You're doing great, you've got this!" And the laughter - lots of laughter. I wouldn't trade these memories for a little extra sleep or dry clothes any day of the year.
So... what does all this have to do with Living Unfiltered for God? A lot, I believe. When we hear The Father's voice, he wants us to obey. He wants us to act. Quite often, that means getting out of our comfort zones. Getting out of bed on a rainy holiday morning, even. Jesus said in John 10:10 that he came so that we could "have life and have it to the full". That sounds like making memories! Do something a little uncomfortable or outside of your normal routine. "Blessed, rather, are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28). Obedience leads to blessing. Choosing to live life - to make a memory - leads to blessings, too.
When all is said and done, what story do you want to tell? The one where you could have done all of these interesting and fun things, but you decided not to? That you thought you heard God prompting you to do something, but you didn't act on it? Or... do you want to tell the story of how you got up before dawn to spend a morning travelling to and from an event where you spent an hour running in a rainstorm with your daughter - enjoying every single moment of it? Or that you trusted God enough to do the thing He asked you to do and you were blessed beyond measure by what resulted? I know what story I chose today, and I'm so glad I did.
Let me encourage you... Make those memories. Listen to His voice. And be prepared to be blessed beyond anything you could ever ask or imagine.
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