Today, a sweet friend was praying for me and said “Lord, you knew that this summer was going to be crazy for them, and you ordained it for Tyler and Kristen…” and I felt a little surprised! Somehow I had forgotten about God’s good sovereignty, and in the back of my mind was feeling like a martyr for all of our travels and time apart this summer. I’ve been taking credit/blame, or giving Tyler credit/blame, for the decisions we made to take certain trips or drive long distances to see each other. I forgot to factor in God’s plan, His provision and goodness in knowing ahead of time what things are coming for us.
Inadvertently, she helped me build a memorial to what God did this summer already. The time He gave us in Charleston is a sweet gift, not just another week to be listed off as “crazy” or “not normal”. (Though it does fit nicely in those categories).
I’ve had several conversations recently about making memorials. The Israelites built altars to remember certain events and these tangible, physical reminders become meaningful because of what they represent. The obvious correlation, to me, is that photographs are tangible representations of events or memories. Sometimes they are symbolic but serve as great “triggers” to thankfulness and memory.
For example…
