I put a sweatshirt on this morning that I picked up on vacation a few weeks ago. Everyone else was buying t-shirts, but me…I bought two sweatshirts ‘cause I have enough t-shirts in my closet to make one of the t-shirts quilts you see on Pinterest and fall is coming…thank you, Jesus. Also, I knew days like today were in the near future where the morning air was a little cooler and said sweatshirts would most likely still be laying in my unpacked suitcase in the bedroom floor. Yes, I am that person.
Don’t judge me.
As I was standing in the crowded gift shop checkout line waiting to pay for my cozy sweatshirt with “BEAUFORT” in big letters across the chest, I could reminisce about tan lines, sandy toes and fresh seafood when I was back home to the daily grind of early mornings, school pickup lines and sports practices.
I don’t know about you, but I love remembering good times. I enjoy sitting on the couch with old photo albums and looking back through time and talking about the memories of my life. I honestly don’t remember much about my childhood…just bits and pieces here and there of random things like when I tight-rolled the hem of my pants in 8th grade and my math teacher walked by me at my locker and said, “Are you waiting on a flood?” Or maybe the time I was riding on my dad’s shoulders while he was riding a bicycle and I fell off and landed on our dirt driveway. I didn’t get hurt, but for the life of me, I don’t know why he thought that would be a good idea…it wasn’t like we were a circus family traveling the country…just country folks in a double-wide trailer on family land.
Those are the memories that feel like a comfy sweatshirt. That make me feel all warm and cozy in the daily hustle. I think too often we live in the big moments of life…the weddings, baby showers, ballgames, concerts and vacations and then we forget the marriage, the raising of the kids, the required practices and the daily life of laundry and cleaning toilets, because it doesn’t tell as much of a story to those around us as pictures from our recent expedition to the Alaskan frontier, where we camped on snow-covered mountains with picturesque views. Yes, those memories are great and not to be taken for granted…but they are just t-shirts. A fleeting moment in time that only makes up maybe 1-2 weeks of a year and fades over time to something that gets cut up into rags for washing cars or dusting furniture.
But, what about the other 50 weeks?
Weddings are good, but a great marriage is far better.
Baby showers are sweet, but raising a child is pure joy.
You can win a trophy, but being a part of a team is a better prize.
Vacations are nice, but eventually you have to come back home.
Lord, help me not to get caught up in the moments of life that are nothing more than a souvenir t-shirt. Allow me to linger in the memories of your goodness and faithfulness over my life, because daily life with You is a comfy sweatshirt warm with Your love. My righteousnesses are just t-shirts…’ole filthy dust rags. This life is anything but a vacation, but we have an assurance of a heavenly home waiting on the other side of this life.
I can’t help but wonder if my mansion is going to have a closet full of oversized sweatshirts that hold memories of God’s blessings over my me. If there is, I am pretty sure there will be one in there with big letters across the chest saying, “GRACE”.
