By Doug Creamer
Memories
Many years ago when I was a young teenager, my sister worked as a lifeguard for the National Park Service near Nags Head. I think she did it for a couple of summers. My family would rent a cottage in Nags Head for a week and we would spend time on the beach with my sister as our lifeguard. It was a great week and we had some great family time together.
My sister was living in a trailer provided for the workers in the National Park Service. One time she invited me to come down and stay with her while her roommate was away. I couldn’t believe my luck. My sister made it a very special time together. I was staying at the beach, who could ask for anything more?
One night my sister said we were going to get up in the middle of the night and go outside to watch a meteor shower. I thought she was crazy. But she woke me up and we went out and lay on the picnic table and watched the sky. The first thing that caught my attention was how many stars were visible. I don’t remember ever having seen that many stars before. We could also see the Milky Way, which was incredible.
We talked, watched the sky, and saw many meteors that night. There was one I will never forget, right over our heads. It was a brilliant, bright meteor. We looked up about thirty seconds later and could still see the smoke floating in the sky. We have talked about that night watching the meteors many times over the years.
There are several times a year that we will get meteor showers. I will almost always go out and see how many shooting stars I can see. I have seen some great shows over the years, but nothing compares to that night with my sister.
I went out several evenings over the past week to watch for a meteor shower. It’s quiet in my neighborhood late at night. The peacefulness snuggled into my soul. I watched the night sky hoping to catch a glimpse of a shooting star, and I wasn’t disappointed.
What I found on my trips outside was not the excitement of catching a shooting star but the satisfaction of finding a few quiet moments. I made myself slow down and take some deep breaths. It’s been a bit crazy lately trying to do life, deal with a few minor health issues, and trying to navigate my emotions over the loss of my father. In the stillness I sighed a few quiet prayers and talked with my Heavenly Father.
It’s hard to find peace in some moments of life. Revisiting great memories with my sister helped. There have been times of insomnia in recent weeks and I find myself revisiting other memories with my family. Some of the stories I wrote about in last week’s column, others are more for our family. I have tried to remember good times spent together and moments of laughter and cheer. The memories bring a sense of comfort, familiarity, and peace…like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night.
Some friends have reached out and offered comfort and words of encouragement, which have been much appreciated. Some have shared their path through this process. While it is comforting and helpful to hear the stories, I am learning a new lesson. I think that this path is one that I must create on my own. I must sort through the memories and learn to cherish the good ones and forgive for those that aren’t so good. I have to learn to let go of the pain and find the peace and comfort that only my Heavenly Father can bring. These are not easy lessons and I am figuring out that this process is going to take some time.
I want to encourage you if you find yourself on a similar path as me to open the boxes of memories, sort them, discard those that are filled with pain, and cherish the ones that bring joy. It’s good to review the good ones, like watching reruns of your favorite TV shows. Give the bad ones to Jesus and ask Him for peace in return. Allow the Holy Spirit to do His job as the comforter. Spend some time with your Father talking things through and allow Him to lead you down the path. Trust Him because He knows the way. He is the Way, the Truth, and He offers you the Life filled with His presence and peace.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
