Brush Stroked Memorials

Oh summer days…we have been waiting for….sleeping in, staying up late, lazy days at the beach.  Often summer expectations include; drinking lemonade; playing in the sprinklers; catching fire flies and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

One of my favorite childhood memories is “painting” my Grandfather’s picket fence.  

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When my cousin, brother and I would spend lengthy summer days at my grandparent’s home in our humid Virginia town, my precious grandfather would fill empty paint cans with water.  He gave us paintbrushes and sent us out to their fence to “paint.”  What an ingenious idea! No mess and he ended up with a clean fence.

Over and over God’s people remember God’s provision and God’s protection and God’s power.  In doing so, they remind themselves and their families of the One they can always trust.

I doubt my grandfather was considering he would be leaving a memory of “painting the fence.”  However, Christ spent His entire earthly ministry preforming miracles and telling stories that are never to be forgotten.

We never know what may become a special memory for our children. We should encourage them to remember what God has done for them.

Challenge:  Begin to store special memories of Christ’s faithfulness in a “treasure box” with your children.  It can be as basic as a shoe box to as elaborate as a shadow box.  You can place a piece of the “memory” in the box and tell their story over and over.  This can become your child’s memory/memorial box.  Over the days, weeks and years, your child will be able to pull from their memorial box a piece of the memory and repeat over and over the amazing experiences and memories they have of their faithful Heavenly Father.