On the anniversary of my transplant surgery, my children gave me a book. It is primarily a picture book, pictures of my wife, my children, and my grandchildren over the last year. They reflect scenes and images I came very close to missing. It is a wonderful gift.
In the back of the book is one of the posts I wrote for The Hubbell Pew titled Remember Me. I don’t remember when or the occasion for writing it, but Rebecca says it is one of her favorites. The title started me thinking.
If each of us had our say, what would we choose to be remembered for? What we remember about people says as much about us as it does about those we remember. If I remember people for their failures what does that say about me. If I remember people for their faults what does that say about me? If I choose to remember Moses for his speech impediment, or Peter for his denials am I missing something? In these two cases, I probably am, but it clearly says something about me.
In last year’s post I say, “when you remember someone you carry something of that person with you.” What we carry away from people matters to the person we remember, but it also matters to the person who is carrying away. If we carry a load of faults, failures, and defects our burden overwhelms us. If we carry a tote sack full of joy, successes, and the best of individuals our load is as light as a feather.
Who chooses to remember us and what they remember is out of our control, but what we choose to remember about every single person determines who we are and the load we carry.
Editor’s Note: Next week Suzy and I venture where there may be no Internet so posting may be intermittant or non-existant. I will let you know if we found such a place. W.
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