by: Joe Talhelm
Warm summer Friday nights have a special spot in my heart. It was on these very special nights
that dad would come home from work, we'd eat supper then he'd start popping up a grocery bag
of the most mouth watering popcorn you could eat. Mom would be finishing the dishes, getting
out the cooler and filling it with drinks and ice and getting us kids (four of us) in our pajamas.
Then the six of us would pile in our very much used station wagon and head out to the drive-in
movie. There we were, four very excited and very wiggly little tykes and two tired but happy
parents heading out to an evening of memory making. We would drive up that narrow paved
drive up to the entrance, pay our fee, drive to the perfect spot (that's the one that is close to the
restrooms) and park. Dad and mom would then proceed to lead us to the swings to play on until
the evening's movies began. About dusk, the projector for the movies would start reeling and we
would scurry back to our station wagon for the rest of the evening. Dad and mom would have
the back seat folded down with blankets and pillows strategically located away from each other
then we would get our popcorn and drinks and settle down for the cartoons. Once the cartoons,
drinks and popcorn were finished, it was time for the four of us to go to sleep. This was to be
miracle time - trying to get all four of us to sleep after all that excitement was not an easy
accomplishment, but dad and mom did it many times. Their feature was soon to come on and we
were to be asleep by that time!
Good memories? You bet they are. Dad and mom made hundreds of them for us kids. The Word of God tells us to "train up a child in the way he should go and after they are older, they will not forget the training". I guess this covers the very broad spectrum of what parenting is all about. What we see, learn and experience as a child pretty much stays with us until we die. Memories. What kind of memories did your parents leave for you? For some people, the memories their parents left have almost destroyed them in the process. Some people have memories of fights, divorces, abuse and much, much more. This is tragic. For others, the memories left by their parents are very happy ones of love, acceptance and faith. And this is terrific! The thought that we do not forget our past is what is meant by the Scripture mentioned above. In training our children according to God's Word, even if our child goes astray, they will never forget what was taught them in the past. They will never be able to say they didn't know. If we train our children in the ways of God and in the Love of Jesus, one day down the road, they will remember that training and will eventually come back to it. It may take years, it may take a lifetime, but eventually the memories will come back to them. The memories of God, His love and His forgiveness.
Memories. What kind are we leaving behind?