Fond Memories

 Yesterday, I read a short devotional that at the end asked a couple of questions which were very relevant to this moment in my life.  The first question was:

1. What place holds fond memories for you?

Even though I have several places that hold fond memories for me...there is one that stands out as the first one that pops into my head when a question like this comes up:  the country of my birth...Panama.  As it happens, I'm at a point in my life where I have lived longer in the United States than I lived in Panama.  But...the years I lived there were formative and there is no way I can forget them.  No matter what, I will always carry Panama in my heart as my first love.  I try to go every year.  This year, I've been blessed to have gone twice.  As a matter of fact I just came back the day before I read this question, and of course, that was my answer.  

God destined it for me to be born and raised in this tiny Central American country, even though He had also designed it for me to leave it in my mid twenties.  But He knew I would always hold it in a special place in my heart.  My memories of this special place involve childhood playtime, teen-dreams and young adulthood plans colored by blue skies with the sound of the ocean always in the background, bright sunshine and never ending warmth...the smiles and the voices of my loved ones who have already finished their journey on this earth plus those who still remain...the smells of greasy foods and spicy rice...and the taste of cold Coca Cola and sweet lemonade.  The memories of my Mother's perfume and my Dad's after-shave, and the tight embrace of those who hate to see me leave one more time saturate my mind day and night...

Am I sad God's plan involved for me to make a life somewhere else, far, far away? Sometimes.  But the core of the answer to the next question is what makes life bearable:  

2. How might you make new memories today?

The beautiful truth is that the Lord allows us to make new and precious memories every time and in every place for as long as we are willing and keep an open mind.  Becoming a visitor in my home country has been a hard pill to swallow (and I can't even swallow pills)...but the new memories I have been able to make for the last, almost thirty years are what have shaped who I am.  The voices and laughter of my sons playing in the background when they were little boys...their hugs and presence now that they are almost all grown up...the very fact they exist...the steady hand of my faithful companion, walking alongside, the beauty of summer, the allergies in the spring, the melancholy of fall and even the quiet serenity of a snowy evening inside a warm home...the friendships...the church...the job...the hope...are all around new, deeply fond memories that this not-so-new place now hold.

Is it hard to make a life in a new place? Yes.  Is it impossible? Not, it is not.  The Lord's plan is perfect and in His wisdom, He knows exactly what we need in order to become who He designed us to be.  After all, earth is not our forever home.  And I'm grateful, He has promised we will one day have that...no more goodbyes...when He calls us to our last move.

Photos from Our Last Trip to Panama