What is a Memorial Box? A Memorial Box is a way to remember what God has done for us. It's so easy to forget. Think about the Israelites.
You place a item on a shelf or set of shelves (your Memorial Box) dedicated to remembering these stories...to remembering what God has done. When the times get hard, you have a visual reminder that God is there, loving you, holding you, very active in your life.
Almost 17 years ago, I was only 20 at the time, I was dating a sweet guy. This was late October 1992. He was great, but I was at that stage where I was in love with being in love. My parents were awesome though, when I asked if I could visit the University (I had previously went to...in another state) they gladly paid the way. In retrospect, I think maybe a light bulb should've gone on when my parents agreed to the visit so hardily.
I had LOVED life at the University! I adored my friends (what can I say, they were awesome). I stayed, while I was there, in a house FULL of people. It was where I fit. It was where I belonged. God wanted me there. Yet my boyfriend lived in another state.
Do you remember how dramatic everything felt at 20? Maybe it was just me :). I was half adult, and still growing so much (though hopefully I still am). It was rough, but a decision needed to be made.
God made it for me. On the phone (which had never occurred before) my boyfriend and I broke up. I cried for about 20 minutes. Then weirdly enough I felt relief. Not to down him AT ALL. He was a nice guy.
Epiphany....I was in love with being in love.
I spent the rest my hours there with friends. It was Halloween week (which as I parent I have a TON different perspective on). I even remember going to a haunted house with this one guy I thought was "hot" at the time....but God protected me.
The next day I decided I would drop into a class/computer lab with one of my friends. It was the only class I went to while I was there, but I REALLY wanted to be with my friends since it was my last day there. I had decided to come back to school there (big surprise :)), but it would still be in a couple of months.
We came in laughing and messing with each other. I noticed this boy across the room that had AWESOME shoulders and laugh lines (nothing did it for me like laugh lines). He was CUTE. I was NOT there for boys though (okay, maybe a little bit).
We were all gathered around a couple of computers and making a list (what the list was for I WILL NOT admit in a blog...smile). I couldn't find a pen though, nor could two of my friends. This was weird because they ALWAYS had pens in class. Huh?
Across the room THE cute guy overheard and threw me a pen. After class, when I was returning it, he asked me out.
Of course, I was jumping on a plane and returning to home the next day. Also, I was cautious. When I shared with him I was leaving, I gave him my address to write me (didn't know him well enough to give him my number) and told him I would be back in a couple of months.
(Fast forward a couple of months...oh ya, and he did write) After 24 hours of driving back to the University ,within hours of arriving, this guy called. We talked for five hours on the phone and it seemed like I'd known this guy for YEARS...no joke. I had NEVER had anything like this happen before. We became INSTANT best friends. He showed up in person as I was moving in to my new apartment with all my friends. Man, he was CUTE! I think I'd forgotten how cute he was. Of course he was a goof ball like me. In the process of goofing off we broke a mirror. Poor guy...this was serious for him...serious bad luck.
Seven years of bad luck...NOT! Seven years later he had two children and a very pregnant wife. Seventeen years later he has five children (really seven including the two waiting for court in Ethiopia).
Two weeks after the mirror incident he told me he loved me. Two months later we were engaged. One year later, we were married. My husband gave me a fairy tale...actually, God gave me a fairy tale in my husband.
Side note: Would this scare the heeber jeebers out of me if this was my child? Yes.
It was with a little pen that my life changed forever. It was with a little pen that I met my best friend, husband, and brother in Christ.
God brought me across the states...created an ending to a relationship that wasn't to be...brought me to the ONE class I visited the entire trip...made all pens vanish...except one.
My God is amazing. I could not even breath without his presence in my life. God is in the details that we can't even imagine.
I'm sure you can guess what I'm putting in my Memorial Box.
One little pen altered my life forever.
God blessed me yet again.
