pictures in time...

I don't know if the holiday season is bringing out the reflective and sentimental part of me or what, but lately, flashbacks to my childhood and even more current memories have been popping up in my head. I like to think of them as pictures in time. An invisible album that, Lord willing, I can hold on to as long as I am alive. And not just visual memories either. Some smells and sounds can take you back to a place in time just as easy. It's so easy to forget the small things that made you who you are. Yes, there are the major things that shape you, and influence our lives in big ways, but recently, I have started to see that it is the combination of the everyday little things that have more of an impact on who you really are. Having that said, I started writing these little things down as I thought of them, and thought it would be great to share with friends and family. Some of these may even be the same ones that you cherish, or possibly have even forgotten, but I have found out that writing them out has opened a floodgate of things that I have not thought about in years. These could be actual events, or real things, or even just an emotion, but nevertheless all equal in my heart. These are just a few examples:

-I loved running barefoot in the summer at Grandma Collins house. Whether chasing each other, playing soccer, or baseball, I always loved the cold grass on my feet. (Despite the many bee stings)

-I would give anything to have one more Sunday afternoon a Grandma Long's house. The smell of her kitchen, playing with all my cousins, and the sound of her window a/c when taking a quick nap before choir practice is just some of the few things that many of us took for granted all those years.

-Meeting half the family after church at Harward's Fish Camp in Richfield. Man I miss that place!

-Every time I have a Sundrop or chew Double Bubble, I'm right back at Mcallister or Frank Liske  watching the "Rude Dogs" play softball. (While we rolled down that big hill!)

-Ever time I have a Cherry Lemon Sundrop, I'm right back at the old Troutman's BBQ on a Sunday night after church.

-I still love the smell of freshly plowed dirt, and tractor fumes (thanks Gpa!)

-I would have loved to have played guitar with Gpa Long, if just once...

-I use to love going with Dad and Gma Long down to the river to pick wild onions. To me, it might as well have been going on a vacation. Every time I see or smell one I think of that

-The trip my Dad took me on to Santee Cooper was one of the best weekends of my life

-I will never forget the feeling I had when I "shot" my first shotgun...(wow!)

-Looking back, the "4th pew and up" rule wasn't so bad after all Mom...

-There will never be another smell like the hallway at Bethany (or Forestview) Baptist. Call me crazy, but you could blindfold me, and take me there, and I would know exactly where I was. The combination of the block walls, glue of the old tiled floor, and the carpet made it a distict place. Side note: I loved the way the sun would hit that stained glass on the front on Sunday afternoons at dusk...the mixture of colors on that brick was so inviting...

-I used to love walking out to the shed behind Gpa Collins house late at night to watch Mike do his models. I think of him, and that workshop everytime I smell paint thinner

-On cold, icy nights at the Hickory Grove house, our family use to pile in one bed, by the window, and watch cars wreck at the intersection. Yes, we are crazy, and a bit demented, but may have been of the most fun things we ever did together!

-I loved playing bass with Mom's piano. More fun than any band or group I have ever played in.

-I still can't drink orange juice without thinking of the Disney trip...(thanks alot Mike!)

-I still smile when I think of riding in the back of the old red Ford. That truck was the best.

-I use to love cruising with my uncle Mike Rabon in his old black Chevy Bel-air to the old Cabarrus Creamery on Saturdays and Sundays

-The smell of a woodstove will always make me long to be at Gpa Collins house. There's nothing like that smell. (despite the unbearable heat it puts out!)

-Shooting mistetoe out of the trees before thanksgiving meal at Gma Longs house was always neat to me a a child

-There will never be any better candy in the world than some hard candy from a ziplock bag from Gma Long's purse during the middle of a sermon

-My Mom will always have the best potato salad in the world

-My senior year was the most difficult, but most rewarding year of my life. I learned more and grew more that year because of the trials than I ever would have if I had not faced them.

-It still doesn't seem right to not have the Cabarrus County fair at the "triangle." Despite space issues, I liked it better there

-There's no bigger smile on my face than when I hear, by chance, one of the old "quartet" songs on the radio. Those songs will always be special to me.

These are some some of the examples of things that I have written down, and I hope to sit down and share many more, but just wanted to share these. I would love to hear feedback from family and friends, and to hear some other memories and "pictures in time" that others would be glad to read! I love each and every one of you, and by no means is this an exhaustive list, or my favorites. Like I said, there are many more, (even more special to me), that I did not list, but for sleep purposes, I will end this list here. I would love to hear from you!

an inconvenient snow...

Most people who have spent alot of time with me during the winter know that I hate snow. I can't stand it. It's cold, messy, and disrupts everything.  I guess this stems from one thing: it is inconvenient. It disrupts my normal activities, dictates schedules, and compromises safety. Yes, I have always thought that it was beautiful, but never had I valued the beauty of it more than the inconvenience that it brought with it...until this week. It was one of those cold nights, and I had just fed the dogs. Usually I head right in the house, especially when it is 10 degrees outside and 2 inches of snow on the ground. But for some reason I put on a couple more layers of clothing and headed back outside to just watch it snow. I sat there on the bed of the truck and for just a moment, just enjoyed the snow. It was almost as if I had to put my life and priorities on pause and just soak up the beauty and peacefulness of the moment. And that moment put such an amazing picture of what God has been trying to show me lately in focus. I just had to push pause and see it. It was the most real picture of sanctification that I had ever seen. The Lord wants to sanctify me. To cleanse me. And just like the blanket of snow covering all the lanscape around the house, He wants to cover my imperfections, my unholiness. But like the frozen condensation all around me, I have not allowed the process of justification to permeate my soul for one reason: inconvenience. It's not always easy to live by faith. In fact it's impossible. And just like my inability to control the weather, so is my inability to become the righteousness of God by my own power. And no, it may not be the most convenient lifestyle to live, but the peace He gives is more satisfying than the luxuries of this world, more beautiful than the first winter snow.