MY MEMORY JAR

Recently a dear friend of mine spoke about the simple, tissue paper decorated jar, filled with little love notes, her young daughter gave her a long time ago. She shared how much reading the declarations of her child's love meant to her when they were going through a difficult stretch with her now that she was an adult. She was so happy and thankful for the blessings of a wonderfully restored relationship since then. I remembered praying for the whole family during their difficult time and even writing a poem for their encouragement! I remembered being so thrilled for answered prayer! I also suddenly remembered to again read the little treasure notes in my Memory Jar at home!

Nine years ago our second daughter was expecting twins! She and her little family lived so far away from us - a 10 hour drive! We missed them very much. As her time came closer she had to move in with us because the little hospital in that northern town was not equipped for her high-risk pregnancy. Her hubby stayed at work in the community school and the church to provide for his family. As soon as she was scheduled to deliver he would drive down. I drove up in treacherous winter driving conditions to pick up our daughter and grandson, her oldest, to bring them back to the big city to stay with us. The Lord kept me safe and provided guidance through a long stretch of white-out condition. An amazing journey for me!

It was such a blessing to have her and our grandson with us! She had lots of free time until her due date! We enjoyed spending the many weeks together doing lots of fun mother-daughter things. During that time she found a way to say thanks that I have treasured all these years. It is a most thoughtful gift anyone could receive!

She took a wide-mouth jar to hold all her special notes. On pretty green card stock she printed memories of her growing up years. When I pulled the jar out again I found that these little snippets of her memory elicit the same emotions they did the first time I read them. I chuckled! My eyes filled with tears of joy! My heart filled with gratitude! I counted my blessings. Most recently, to my surprise, she had sneaked a few more in there. What wonderful thoughts and memories ~ some too private to share ~ but here are a few.

“I remember you praying for me in the swimming pool
for my deep desire to have another baby –
little did we know hey?”

“I remember you letting me eat
one of your first tips of asparagus in your garden.
Now that I have a garden I know what a sacrifice that was.”

“I remember how you volunteered in the lunchroom at school.
I was glad you were always there.”

“I remember sitting on your lap and playing with your hands
thinking that my mommy has the nicest fingernails.”

“I remember you telling me often that I was beautiful.”

“There was never a moment growing up
that I did not know God was the center of our home…
your faith was always evident to me.”

“I remember you coming to my rescue
when I got stuck in my boots in the mud
on the way home from school.”

“I remember you announcing
that you were going to run away with me
when I once wanted to run away from home.”

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With Christmas coming up I thought this would be a great gift idea for someone who has everything! Gifts from the heart are fantastic! Any pretty jar, basket or tin will do because it is the sentiment written on the little notes that make it a life-long treasure. Get the children to make them for grandma and grandpa!

I enjoyed this link:

http://www.epinions.com/gift-review-52FF-88B0F19-391C444B-prod5