Precious Memories
It had been a pretty stressful week. My daughter is still recovering from knee surgery and requires someone to take her wherever she needs to go. On Tuesday, I learned that my mother-in-law was in the hospital, and then learned she had suffered a heart attack. My husband was out of town. It was up to me to contact him and the siblings and get information, since my father-in-law and mother-in-law were not sources of much information. I spent a lot of time on the phone. On Wednesday, she required a heart cath. I really needed some respite.
On Thursday evening, we were blessed to spend a little time visiting with old friends. Mark, his wife and their young daughter had been spending some time in this country and were leaving to return to Hong Kong on Saturday, so after dinner, we took some time and went to his mother's house. We have known his family for over 30 years - since they moved to Abilene and settled in the house down the street from us. We've moved, but kept in touch. We've followed Mark as he pursued various careers. His family has always been special to us. His mom is an amazing woman of faith and she has passed that down to the children and grandchildren. Mark has traveled around the world and found himself in the process. He has stayed in our home and fed our animals while we have gone on vacation. We once met a family in Colorado, only later to have the daughter of that family meet Mark when she went to Thailand on a mission trip. So many ways our families' lives have touched. It was special to sit and listen to Mark as he told of how he and Noi met. She is the perfect complement to him - he so full of energy, she quiet and calm. He, like my husband, was older when they married (Mark does hold the record there), older when the child was born. He found happiness when he felt it had eluded him. Now, he overflows when he talks about his family.
It is hard for his family here to have him so far away. Hong Kong is half-way round the world. I know his mom feels that each time he leaves. He must feel it, too, as his mom is aging and her health is not as strong as it once was. His sister writes of it on her blog. It's always hard to be miles from those we care about.
But, during those times when you sit together and talk about the past and share those memories - how precious it is. We laughed a lot as Mark told the story of their wedding day, and as he and Noi shared the story of their meeting and how it led to something deeper.
As I sat in Polly's house, I was taken back to the times we had sat there before. The times when her children were in college, and then when our daughter was a baby. The times when her mother would sit on the floor, and how, at the age of 90, she could sit on the floor and get up with no help. How she played the piano and would go to the nursing home to play for the "old people." We would visit Polly during the years we lived in Kentucky and would come back to Abilene, and would catch up with what was happening with her children - now grown and with children of their own.
And, then, when we moved back to Abilene, we would get to see the children again. Children now grown with families of their own. There are some tragedies there, as each family has. Polly has had what seems to be more than her share of sorrows. But she remains strongly committed to her Lord. An example for each of us to follow. I love the memories I have of that family - and that I got to spend some time this week in their presence.
Precious memories, unseen angels,
Sent from somewhere to my soul;
How they linger, ever near me,
And the sacred past unfold.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
Precious father, loving mother,
Fly across the lonely years;
And old homescenes of my childhood,
In fond memory appears.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
In the stillness of the midnight,
Echoes from the past I hear;
Old time singing, gladness bringing,
From that lovely land somewhere.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
As I travel on life's pathway,
Know not what the years may hold;
As I ponder, hope grows fonder,
Precious memories flood my soul.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
Precious Memories
Music & Lyrics by J.B.F. Wright
© 1996 Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Co.
All Rights Reserved
On Thursday evening, we were blessed to spend a little time visiting with old friends. Mark, his wife and their young daughter had been spending some time in this country and were leaving to return to Hong Kong on Saturday, so after dinner, we took some time and went to his mother's house. We have known his family for over 30 years - since they moved to Abilene and settled in the house down the street from us. We've moved, but kept in touch. We've followed Mark as he pursued various careers. His family has always been special to us. His mom is an amazing woman of faith and she has passed that down to the children and grandchildren. Mark has traveled around the world and found himself in the process. He has stayed in our home and fed our animals while we have gone on vacation. We once met a family in Colorado, only later to have the daughter of that family meet Mark when she went to Thailand on a mission trip. So many ways our families' lives have touched. It was special to sit and listen to Mark as he told of how he and Noi met. She is the perfect complement to him - he so full of energy, she quiet and calm. He, like my husband, was older when they married (Mark does hold the record there), older when the child was born. He found happiness when he felt it had eluded him. Now, he overflows when he talks about his family.
It is hard for his family here to have him so far away. Hong Kong is half-way round the world. I know his mom feels that each time he leaves. He must feel it, too, as his mom is aging and her health is not as strong as it once was. His sister writes of it on her blog. It's always hard to be miles from those we care about.
But, during those times when you sit together and talk about the past and share those memories - how precious it is. We laughed a lot as Mark told the story of their wedding day, and as he and Noi shared the story of their meeting and how it led to something deeper.
As I sat in Polly's house, I was taken back to the times we had sat there before. The times when her children were in college, and then when our daughter was a baby. The times when her mother would sit on the floor, and how, at the age of 90, she could sit on the floor and get up with no help. How she played the piano and would go to the nursing home to play for the "old people." We would visit Polly during the years we lived in Kentucky and would come back to Abilene, and would catch up with what was happening with her children - now grown and with children of their own.
And, then, when we moved back to Abilene, we would get to see the children again. Children now grown with families of their own. There are some tragedies there, as each family has. Polly has had what seems to be more than her share of sorrows. But she remains strongly committed to her Lord. An example for each of us to follow. I love the memories I have of that family - and that I got to spend some time this week in their presence.
Precious memories, unseen angels,
Sent from somewhere to my soul;
How they linger, ever near me,
And the sacred past unfold.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
Precious father, loving mother,
Fly across the lonely years;
And old homescenes of my childhood,
In fond memory appears.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
In the stillness of the midnight,
Echoes from the past I hear;
Old time singing, gladness bringing,
From that lovely land somewhere.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
As I travel on life's pathway,
Know not what the years may hold;
As I ponder, hope grows fonder,
Precious memories flood my soul.
Chorus
Precious memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul;
In the stillness of the midnight,
precious, sacred scenes unfold.
Precious Memories
Music & Lyrics by J.B.F. Wright
© 1996 Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Co.
All Rights Reserved
posted by pawatson at
7/16/2006 04:25:00 PM
