Recently I had occasion, for a church group, to do a "Life Review." This started with where I was born, who were in my family of origin, where we lived, what kind of church and spiritual experience I had as a child, and what happened to me for the rest of my life. This was, indeed, soul-searching! Really, I like to look forward, not backwards, and try to forget the hard times but remember the good things. So, being honest with myself wasn't exactly a bed of roses!
The ladies in my group are of varying ages, from early twenties clear to eighties. We are quite open and compatible, and also love each other as sisters. Our life histories vary wildly. But we have one major factor in common: we love our God, our church, and seek to grow in love and service.
When I was growing up, even though I was myself a child, I was fascinated with small children. They were so cute! I loved to see parents pushing their children in strollers. After I turned 13 years old, a neighbor asked me to babysit her children, all four of them. That surprised me because I was only maybe 4 years older than their oldest. I came to love babysitting and did quite a bit of it right until the time I married at age 20. Looking back, what I wanted most in life was to have a large family, 10 children, to be exact. I had no idea everything that would entail, but I thought it would be grand. There were so many large families, 10, 13 children - and they just seemed happier to me.
How was I to know that this exact wish would be fulfilled! My husband told me that it was his wish also to have a large family. It was not easy. But it seemed that we were both very healthy, the children were healthy, and his job was extremely stable - he has worked at the same job for 51 years now.
We lived in a small town, very, very good to raise children in a small town! But enough about me. If you have the inclination, do your own review, 'dreaming' about your past. Sure, there are many experiences we would just as well have skipped, but if we learned, it helped us. One thing I learned from this Life Review: I've survived a lot, could not necessarily have predicted where I am now, but am content to know I've done the best with what I have, worked nearly as hard as I could have, and loved as many as I could. Not bad for an old 'back-woods' Kentucky girl!
Dear Lord, thank you that there are many things in the recesses of our minds that don't bother us much any more and that we look forward to serving you and everyone you have us encounter in the time on this earth that we have left!
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