In a recent post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, Pastor Freed used this quote –
“While disease is a mugger, age is a cat burglar who steals but a single day each night, and the thief has learned patience.” (Madeline Albright)
Lately we have been hiding from the Corona Virus mugger that is running rampant in our world ravaging those whom it has infected; however, there is no way to hide from the cat burglar of age that creeps up on all of us stealing yet another precious day from us each night. What we can do, all of us, is to steal a part of each day back from that burglar by getting the maximum value and enjoyment out of each day such that there is nothing to regret having done or not done as sleep casts it’s nightly veil over us.
If we begin each day thankful for God having given us yet another opportunity, we should end each day thankful to God for having been with us as we had the experiences of living through it. We should pause to reflect on the people that we met the challenges that we overcame, the knowledge that we gained and the joys that we experienced. That moment of reflection and thankfulness serves to steal back the day and lock it in our memories in a way that even the cat burglar of age cannot take from us. The longer one lives the greater is the treasure that is stored in those memories. Age may steal our endurance and our strength, and bring with it aches and pains to remind us that it is there, but, for most, it cannot steal our memories and need not dull our minds.
It is easier to retain those memories is one starts the day in the right frame of mind. Perhaps you could start with a little prayer asking God to help you:
to be more open to new ideas and new people,
to be more calm and thoughtful in the face of the day’s challenges,
to be more ready to listen and less ready to talk,
to be more understanding and less judgmental,
to strive to love thy neighbor as Jesus loves you.
If you actually lived the day with those thoughts in mind, I’ll bet that you will end the day with new treasures to add to your memories; memories that the cat burglar of age cannot take away from you.
Have a great and memorable day!
Posted by Norm Werner 
smile to the faces of those who pause to reflect upon knowing us or will there be a frown there?
Another aspect of the Dr. Seuss quote is realizing that the moment that you are in will become a memory someday. I hope that it will become a fond memory and, realizing that, will allow you to savor it even more. In some cases it is a moment that you just need to get through and put behind you. My wife and I have a little saying that we use for some of those moments, “Someday we’ll look back on this and laugh.” You just have to realize that every “now” becomes a “then” with time. The pain of a loss now will become the comfortable memory of the many “thens” that you had together. The sting of a disappointment or a failure will fade as you process the experience into understanding and wisdom. The joys of successes, victories, friendships and loves will take their places on the trophy shelf in the back of your mind, ready to be revisited and savored once again, when you need a lift.
you can look back on with pride. Place a high value on your time and how you spend it. Each fleeting moment is a memory being formed. Make sure that your memories are those of a life well lived and not a dull still life full of coulda, woulda and shoulda’s. Go out and make some great memories this week.
story about what they family did during the last year – accomplishments, vacations and changes. We filed those stories away along with the images on the cards.
cookies that you put out for him and left presents under the tree for you. How far back can you remember? Wasn’t that a pleasant experience? Hopefully, those memories are not like a long, heavy chain that you drag behind you; but, rather, like a gentle wisp of perfume floating in the air for you to enjoy.
of winter to come; too remember roses in December; however, memory also serves to keep alive those who are no longer with us. As Thomas Campbell put it- “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
movie stars whose brief term of fame and glory happened well before most people living today were even born. Every day I’m reminded by pictures in my house of the key people who were in my life and who have passed away – parents and relatives. It is easy to pause and let a fond memory flood into my mind and that’s a good thing, but not something that I dwell on for too long. I take to heart a quote by Ken Kesey – “Loved. You can’t use it in the past tense. Death does not stop that love at all.” That is certainly true of those we have loved and continue to love who were a part of our lives.
they cannot let go of the past – “Chasing your tale? Sometimes we relive past accomplishments, failures and or past relationships to the point of exhaustion. When we do this, I liken it to a dog chasing its tail, just spinning round and round and going nowhere fast. Constantly chasing our own tales has the same effect on us. It leaves us in a state of dizzying immobility. When we wrap our arms so firmly around our past we leave little room to embrace our present future and that, my friends, is a sad tale to tell.”
hurts you, it’s the constant reliving of things that you cannot change and the tendency that we have as humans to beat ourselves up over those events or the decisions that we made at the time. It’s over! Learn from those mistakes and then let them go.
happy memories of people that you still love and who loved you and those events that brought you joy.
NormsMilfordBlog 