The Heart Stores the Memories...

When a parent loses a child through death, I think one of the fears we have is that our child will be forgotten and that some how even we may lose some of the memories that we have.  We have memorized every feature of our child but in reality there is no way that even the smallest detail could escape a parent's heart where all of these things are stored.  When all that is left are those memories...pictures, videos...any treasure that reminds us of our precious child become almost sacred.  We know that on this side of heaven, this is all we have and we cling to it with every ounce of energy we have.

God has blessed me with such wonderful memories and yet as days have turned to weeks and months have now been numbered in years---almost two to be exact---I find myself thinking of memories as the "black and white" version of the real life we once shared.  They are the snapshots in time that marked Lynda's life here.  They are great to have now but they are in no way as good as the "real thing" when she was alive and here with us.  And oh how I miss her.

Luckily God reminds me that heaven and earth are just opposites of this situation I find myself in right now.  While I feel that life with Lynda here was like rich, vivid color and now that she is no longer with me, the memories pale in comparison---God paints a picture of earthly existence and heaven in direct contrast.  Life here on earth is the shadowy black and white version while heaven's pictures of life are full color and multidimensional.

2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Through the years, the "memory pictures" may tend to blur but the love in our hearts never diminishes...in fact, it continues to grow as we look toward heaven's reunion.