Our lives are filled with memories. From the time we can begin remembering things, memories are being created. The problem with memories, is that some are bad and cause grief and regret. Unfortunately, it’s the bad memories that seem to be easily remembered. I believe this is common for many people including myself. Many times Satan will remind me of bad memories and try to get my mind to go back the places filled with guilt and shame, when in reality, there are so many good memories that I could be focusing on instead. It’s one of the toughest thing to do, but we should continually be practicing at remembering the good things in life and handing the bad things over to God and allowing Him to “Forgive and Forget”.
One way to practice erasing bad memories from our minds is to work extremely hard at creating NEW good memories in our lives. This past weekend we had the opportunity to do multiple things with our daughter Naomi that I truly hope to remember for a long time.
We spent Saturday evening at the Dillsburg Farmers Fair Parade. This was Naomi’s first fair experience and she seemed to enjoy herself very much. The best part about the evening was that we were able to tag along with our good friends the Stough’s and their son Owen. Owen is just starting to get to the age where he knows what is going on so to watch him pointing at different things as they went by us was very special to watch. As the cars, tractors, and horses passed by – Owen watched, pointed, smiled, and said what he always says “what’s that?” Daddy Chris held him the entire time and we laughed, joked around and had a great time together… creating good memories.
Then on Sunday afternoon, we were privileged to go with my brother and sister-n-law to go do something I’ve never done before: pick apples and pumpkins. We visited Paulu’s Orchard – again in Dillsburg. I have to admit, what I thought was going to be semi-boring, ended up being a really good time. There was plenty to do for all ages. This would be a great place to take your kids if they are at a young age. There was a playground that included pedal carts on a mini race track, a corn maze, wagon rides around the orchards, rows and rows of various apple trees, enough pumpkins to make Charlie Brown jealous, this place had it all. There was even a cool little country store to buy snacks, gifts or apple cider. The best part about the experience though was getting Naomi her first ever pumpkin. We searched and searched until her Uncle Jason found her one that fits her perfectly. She may never remember this pumpkin, but her mommy and daddy will… creating good memories.
Last night, as the two of us were sitting on our porch, I was holding Naomi in my arms. She was silently staring out into the yard and looking towards the sky. I searched my mind for good memories from my childhood and began telling her stories, just so she could hear my voice. It was a joy to share that moment with her. My desire is to keep creating good memories so I can continue telling her stories and one day as a grandpa tell her kids stories.
It is now 6:50 am and as I was just wrapping this post up, I heard her began to wake up. I ran upstairs to find her squirming in her crib. I comforted her, picked her up and held her tight. She needed her diaper changed so I quickly took care of that. She is now sitting right beside me literally watching me type. She has no idea what I’m typing or what is going on through my mind but as her little blue eyes watch these words mysteriously appear on the screen, I hope she will one day understand how memorable this is for her daddy.
Thank you Naomi for creating these good memories.
Oh… and Naomi… One more thing. Whatever that was, that noise you just made? Let’s work on saving those memories for when daddy is already at work. 
