1 Chronicles 16:15 (ESV) “Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.”
Are you one who loves making memories? How about writing things down? Journaling, notetaking, To-Do Lists? I did not always love doing this, but I’ve grown to love making notes here and there. Over the past several years, I’ve noticed that my brain works harder to keep track of small things. Writing things down has become a way to help me remember. It’s also a way for me to reflect on things I want to remember, like memories with my children.
In these unprecedented times of 2020, how can we still make these memories worthy of remembrance when life is truly chaotic and uncertain?
1. Shift Our Perception
The pandemic of 2020, riots, natural disasters, and more have left us reeling. We may wonder if the next 3 months have anything worth salvaging. Depending on where you live, there’s also the little matter of mask-wearing and waiting for your favorite places to open back up. As frustrating and crazy as these times are, it doesn’t mean we have to record this entire experience as dreadful. I find myself struggling to find time to breathe!
We have so many priorities as women and as moms sometimes we feel that our priorities have to be done on a certain schedule or a certain time. It’s never-ending!
When I was a working mom outside of the home, I would come home to make dinner after teaching all day. If we didn’t have time to chat around the table or make meaningful connections, I would have to get creative with my time. Going to bed a little bit later in order to read my daughter’s favorite story, or talk about things that were waiting on her heart was a way to make lasting memories.
Quality time often makes a bigger impact than the quantity of time.
This was not always easy. I struggled with that perception shift because I knew (or I thought) I had to do something at a certain time or life would just fall apart. Guess what? It never did. So it’s okay to shift our perceptions and make our priorities movable in order to create quality over quantity and make meaningful memories.
2. Make Your Priorities Moveable
Think about the priorities that you can move around so that you don’t have that spirit of angst rather than calm. What are some priorities you can move around to combat that anxious feeling? I know this is especially difficult for moms working outside the home. If you find it difficult to make meaningful memories when you’re struggling to even stay at home for any length of time, it’s okay to get creative!
Give yourself grace one moment at a time.
3. Keep Records For Your Memories
Let’s return to the verse above. 1 Chronicles 16:15 says, “Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.” Remember his covenant forever. Remember earlier when I mentioned writing things down? This is why. When we record things, even the smallest details, it helps us keep a record of the little blessings God has given.
Writing things down creates a spirit of gratefulness and thankfulness as well as a spirit of calm. In these times, more than anything we need a spirit of rest within our homes.
What does this look like? For me, it looks like scheduling a time once a week and to write down all the blessings in my life that week. Some people have referred to this process as keeping a “thankfulness journal.” I love that!
I can always go back through the notebook when I’m having a tough day or season of life. Even the seemingly small things remind me how God is working in my life and it gives me something to hold on to when I get anxious or dwell on seeds the enemy plants.
What about you? What are some ways you can redeem 2020 and calmly make some memories your children will always remember?
-Danielle
