Mementos

I've been cleaning out my mom's desk this past week and have found all sorts of wonderful mementos that she kept and treasured.  She kept practically every Valentine's Day card and Mother's Day card that my brother & I ever gave her, special thank you notes from past students, parents, and friends.  She also kept all kinds of encouraging cards, poems, sayings, and Bible verses that she had just jotted down.  I found quite a few touching ones that I kept to lift me up when I need some cheer and to remind me of my mom.  Here is one that we all need to be reminded of now and then:

So many people need you in so many ways, and no one 

can take your place. No one else can play your role.  No one 

else knows your lines. You are uniquely created to fit in the 

special you-shaped space God formed in this world. Never 

wonder if you are needed. The fact that you are here proves it! 

Looking through my mom's desk also got me thinking about how much what we keep says about us.  Why don't more of us collect encouraging notes, jot down Bible verses, hold onto special cards from our friends?  Instead we often collect meaningless things, try to hold onto material objects just to have more.  I hope that someday when my desk is emptied that what I have in there will be an encouragement to those cleaning it out, that it will be a testament to how I lived my life and what I held important.  

On that note, I have the most wonderful husband in the world & will most definitely keep the little card that he sent me today along with these beautiful flowers.