This morning I got to school and was met by one of my English teachers and the lesson plans for today. I laughed when I saw that "Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo" was the chant I was going to be teaching to the fourth graders. That brought back memories of my grade school years and classmates. I got this flashback of me and my school friends playing simple, childish hand clapping games. That's definantly one of my happier memories of public school.
The teacher today wanted to know if I had any good ideas for the chant. LOL, yup I did! So I taught both of my fourth grade classes a hand slapping game I learned years ago. It was a lot of fun teaching it to them- I think I was enjoying it more than the students!
It's amazing how much a simple memory can effect you. A happy memory can energize your day, where a sad or painful one can be a hindrance to it. The other day when I had been thinking off and on about a not so pleasant memory, I read this in my devotions, and it made me ponder some things.
"Screaming for help, I fell over myself trying to get away from a gigantic spider. I am not normally afraid of spiders but this was one I have never encountered before. It was as large as the palm of my hand with long, grey-blue legs. It sat still in the middle of a web hanging over a corner of my flower garden.
My neighbor came to my rescue and inspected the spider. Through a grin he said in his slow southern drawl, "It can't hurt you, but it can sure make you hurt yourself, huh?" I laughed at his remark but it stuck with me.
Many Christians are overly concerned and anxious about the devil and his traps to ensnare us. They go through their days declaring every trial, sorrow, and challenge a work of the devil against them. Some may even go as far as to blame him for the tiniest of irritations. They have become so consumed with the enemy that they have taken their eyes off of Jesus. When this happens, the enemy hasn't hurt you but he has made you hurt yourself."
Okay so maybe this doesn't really apply to you when you think about memories, but it did to me. "It can't hurt you, but it can sure make you hurt yourself, huh?" When I read that part it stuck with me too. How many times do I let a painful memory or a memory I wish I could forget get me down and make me lose my focus on Christ and all that He has done for me. How many times have I been so distracted by memories of past things that the here and now part of my life is affected by it? I try to dismiss it, or I end up re-living it in my head and thinking of the "what ifs" that go with it, instead of taking it to the Lord in prayer, seeking His counsel, and being reminded of who I am in Christ.
As I was going about my day, I was thinking about this past year and all the memorable moments in it. Those are the memories I want to remember. I want to continually stand in awe of the past, present, and future of seeing God's hand work mightily in my life and others'. These are the memories where I'm reminded that it's all about Jesus Christ and not about me. That's the biggest keepsake I can take with me from my time here in Taiwan.
Mai Lewis ~ Ying Pan
