As I sat in my hotel room, each morning I listened to the audio book while preparing for my day. As the author spoke of “letting go” of past hurtful memories and “clinging” to those happy ones, she also stated sometimes we must hold close those memories which encompass both the positive and negative. However, it is very important to make new memories so that we can move forward. New memories have become an integral part of my life. The author knew what it was to have her aspirations altered, necessitating an unexpected life design.

I have never met a person whose life was as they planned and/ or dreamed.  As youth and young adults we all envision our lives. I recall so vividly planning my life and family as a class project when I was in middle school, home economics class. We had to submit a sketch of our home, discuss our careers and  describe our “ideal” family.  The “plan”  was partially correct, but life took me on a much different journey than I had intended.

My “dream” family of that class assignment consisted of two children; a daughter and a son just as God blessed me with, but that was as far as those life blueprints succeeded. The home, career and family were nothing like my aspiration. I was not able to be the full-time “stay at home” wife and mother I had so greatly desired. We didn’t remain in the same house with the picket fence as in my class assignment, but we moved over twenty-two times in less than forty-four years. My desires for long-time friends were replaced with many acquaintances in the cities and neighborhoods where we briefly resided.

Now as I sat in my hotel room quietly listening to the words of the author, my new memories included people I had met from across the U.S. Each of us were experiencing another country with cultures, habits and lives different from our own. What a joy it was to have such an opportunity.

While rearing our children, because we didn’t travel, we hosted countless international guests from all over the world. Some stayed with us a few days, others for weeks at a time and some we hosted “as our family” for several years. We welcomed them around our table for holiday meals. They also attended church and community events with our family. Those times were treasured and cherished memories.

But now, I’m that international traveler. I’m not staying in their home, but am sharing their country and culture. What a blessing it has been to learn from others of  their travels and routines in their daily lives and residency.  

Thus, as the author noted, I am making new memories, while also recalling those precious times of the past.  Even though Deuteronomy speaks to the Israelites of God’s promises to them, it should also be a reminder to each of us, that wherever we are, we will be blessed. Deuteronomy 28:3 NIV, “you will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.”