A few weeks ago a friend and I got together to scrapbook, an activity that combines stickers, photographs, and colored paper (and a huge amount of time!) in an eye pleasing arrangement on album pages. As I sat at the table looking at the photographs I brought with me, I started to judge what could be eliminated from each picture and still tell the story I was hoping to communicate through these snapshots.

If you had an opportunity to create an album of memories reflecting your life, what would it include and what would be quietly and discreetly trimmed away? Would you include only the high points and discard the photographs representing the painful times you've experienced in your life? Would there be pictures of failed relationships, the times you hurt someone else through your words and deeds, the bad news that a job was terminated, the diagnosis of an illness, or the bad score on a paper or test?

Unfortunately, the list of low points could go on and on. Sometimes we may feel that too much of our daily life is filled with mistakes and the pain that accompanies the aftermath. If only we could take scissors and snip away the blemishes of our past to reveal only the good times! I think of the time I meant to say something to prod a student along but it came out wrong. What was meant to be constructive criticism, ended up being devastatingly painful. Ugh... I can still feel the pain this child felt! But if I would trim that failure from my past, I wouldn't have learned to think a little longer on what's the best practice in communicating with people, realizing that sometimes speaking softly and calmly works for some, while being strong and bold is the best way for others!

The moments captured on the photographs depicting our failures in life may be distracting, and we may want to get rid of them because they reveal who we really are to others. However God knows all... the good and the bad, the shortcomings and the successes. But as the line from the hymn "I am Covered Over with the Robe of Righteousness" says with comfort and reassurance, He sees not what I use to be, but He sees Jesus.

Our failures of the past are what makes us complete in the blood of the Lamb. Christ takes our failures, our pain, and our grief and makes it His own. He understands our shortcomings because He lived with us. When we fall short of following God's law, God seeks us out, draws us to Him, and loves us. No matter what!

Our life album of memories is capable of being pleasing to the eye, especially when we apply the added touches of the gift of life, forgiveness, and salvation with each page. The real heart issues of grief, joy, failure, and success are what makes us who we are, a redeemed child of God! Please join me in sharing that news with someone this week.

Enjoying the ride,

Jane