Memories

By

Pastor B.J. Knefley

Thanksgiving, is it a memorable time in your life? For some it is not. In fact, for many holidays in general are not a good memorable time. Why? Simply because they are not memories that one wants to relive. Abuse, tragedies, heart retching events dot our lives, and some happen during the holidays. So, what do we do if this describes us? I’m glad you asked.

One of the things I’ve learned in life is that just because I suffered during holiday time doesn’t mean that I must make everyone miserable to. It starts with dealing with our own stuff. Sure, it was tragic, miserable, sad and it probably shouldn’t have happened, but it did. I hate to say it but sometimes we just need to get over it. In other words, it may not be your fault for what happen, but it is your fault for what you do with it. That may seem harsh, but we don’t have to drag everyone else down to our level just because we’re having a bad day.

I’m one of those who has had a hard time with holidays particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas. When my children were small, I was a real grinch. If I could find something else to do around the holidays, I did. I would even volunteer to work on holidays just so I didn’t have to be around. Then one day I realized that I was making everyone else miserable. It wasn’t their fault I was in a slump. I was choosing this. Although I wasn’t responsible for what had happened to me, I was responsible for what I did with it. I could choose to allow it to dictate my life as a victim or I could choose to grow and thrive despite it. We all have that choice, but not everyone makes it.

I will admit that terrible things happen to very innocent people. It should never happen, but it does. But when we allow those events to cripple us today, we give our power away to make new memories for tomorrow. The choice to do that isn’t always easy but it can be done, you just must choose it. Think about it.