GIVE ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: Psalms 78:1 - 7

My mother has a pear tree that has wonderful pears on it. Each year the grandchildren love to come to her house to eat the pears from the tree. Now they are grown and the children live far away. I help her dry the pears and mail them to each grandchild so they can eat them during the winter. Fresh pears are available in the stores. But grandmother’s pears mean more than just nourishment for the body. Grandmother’s pears are nourishment for the soul.

My grandmother had two wonderful apricot trees in her back yard. I lived with her when I was a child. We waited for the apricots to get ripe. Then we would eat and eat and eat our fill. There were many more than we could eat, so we put them in a screen cage with shelves to dry in the sun. The dried apricots were kept in tins in a cupboard in the basement. Whenever I think of dried apricots, I think of my grandmother and her love and companionship. The apricots meant a lot to others also. My aunt and her husband and little girl lived in London in 1942 and 43. My aunt was frightened to be so far away from home. She lived in fear of the bombings each day she was there. My grandmother packed up tins of apricots and mailed them to her. The apricots were nourishment to them when fruit was not available. But they were much more than that. They meant someone loved my aunt. Someone thought of her and cared for her, even though she was far away. They were nourishment for the soul. The apricots kept the generations connected.

I do not walk my path alone. There have been many ancestors on the path before I began to walk. There will be many after me. What gifts are mine from the past? I am who I am from them. I am who I am because of me. What will I leave for those who come after me? I love connecting with the past. It tells me who I am. I'll spend the day thinking about thses questions. You do also. Happy memories.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day “The hero draws inspiration from the virtue of his ancestors.” Goethe As Memorial Day draws near, I love to connect with those who have gone before me. As I child, I helped my grandmother decorate our family graves each May. First, I would drag the old glass vases and wicker baskets from the top of the garage. She had saved them from past funerals for this specific purpose. We gathered all the flowers from the yard—iris, peonies, snow balls, tulips (if there were any left) and roses (if there were any in bloom). Arranging them in the containers was fun. We organized them one way and then another until the color combinations were just right. When the sprays were ready, we carefully laid them in the trunk of the car with wet dish cloths over the stems to keep them fresh. It was my job to take the wire cutters and snip and bend wire hanger sections to anchor the baskets and vases upright to the ground in case of a strong wind. All that accomplished, we set out for the cemetery. As we walked among the head stones to our family graves, a feeling of reverence for those who lived before me settled into my being. I loved being there—drawing inspiration from those who had gone before. I can’t help but wonder what their existence is like now, knowing that they are close to me and I am close to them. They all had faults—same as me. But they are mine and I am theirs, and I am glad to take a day to honor and remember them. I am a living breathing being because of them, and that thought fills me with gratitude.

Congratulations to Kirs. She's the winner of Texting Through Time. Thanks to everyone for entering. Happy Reading! Christy

Welcome to Connections where short quotes are posted three times a week for a quick read to help center you for your day. To enter the contest: 1. Follow this blog 2. Leave a short comment You may win Texting Through Time, a great summer read! Good luck! And Thanks for stopping by! Christy

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One word Frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love. - Sophocles

Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith. - Gordon B. Hinckley

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phillipians 4:13