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These two verses of scripture tell us that we.. "are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." I feel sure that all of us have memories of the past, and the ones I remember as if last week, are from the twenties, thirties and forties. These memories will always be with me. No, I am not living in the past, but the memories of the past sure helped me to live better in the future. Memories are important. They help us to know where we have been, what we have done, how we have grown and changed through the years. They help us to make meaning of our lives and our relationships. They help us to know what our deeply held values are. O yes, memories are important

I have memories of Christmas when there was no money for extra things - like Christmas gifts. I pray that the younger generation will never have these kind of memories, unless the memories make you a better person. Let's remember that every stage of our lives is God-ordained, God-appointed, and it's God who can comfort you. It's Jesus Christ Himself, the One who came into this dark world of sin as a baby at Christmas time in order to save us from ourselves and from our loneliness.

I remember that we did not have any Christmas decorations except a Christmas tree, and we didn't have electricity, so we didn't have lights on that tree. We thought people who had lights on their trees were very rich. I really don't remember that there were any other Christmas decorations in our house back in those days, except for some kind of paper strips cut into small pieces, put together with flower paste and made into lengths, and hung for each corner of the room, with a red bell hung in the middle. But these were exciting days.

I have memories of the late forties that I will always remember - times were hard - married in 1948 - used borrowed car to go to preacher house to be married - steel mill out on strike first week of marriage. Twelve years later steel mill on strike for several months - new baby at house - Sears announced steel workers could buy Christmas on credit - to pay back after second pay-day.

O yes, I remember my struggle with acknowledging the call to ministry, because of the early memories of our struggle just to survive. I remember a close friend asking me: "What will God have to do, just kill you;" referring to my reluctance to enter ministry. Memories, Precious Memories - bushels of them.

But through it all, God has brought us to this place and time, and I recall once again: we.. "are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." The loving arms of Jesus, how precious are these words. Yes, memories are precious, but don't let the memories of the past govern your future.

I remember reading this story of a college freshman who decided it was about time she experienced her first college date. Her roommate, who was a senior, asked whether she preferred Southern boys or Northern boys. Since she was from South Dakota she was unaware of such nuances in the male gender and asked what the difference was.

Her roommate answered, "Southern boys are more romantic. They will take you walking in the moonlight and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Northern boys are more active. They like to go places and do exciting things."