I know people who want to forget painful memories so they never talk about them. I get it. No one wants to remember stupid things they’ve said or done, relationships that went awry, or the fact that someone dearly loved is no longer here. But alongside those painful remembrances are often pleasant ones, and talking about them can bring more of the positive to bear.

Saying and doing stupid things means you are alive. Everyone does these things, and some live long enough to care. If your action hurt someone, you need to go to that person and make it right, but if you are just embarrassed, rest assured that this too will pass.

In the case of relationships, there is not always anything you can do about that. If you are the cause of the breakup and it was unnecessary, that is another wrong you need to correct. If you know you did the right thing, or if the other person distanced and has no desire to restore fellowship with you, then you have to leave it in God’s hands and be thankful for the relationships you have. God knows who you need in your life more than you do.

In the last few years, I have lost more loved ones to death than I have in my whole life. Memories of them bring both smiles and tears. Tears because I miss them but smiles because of what they meant to me. I have been blessed to know some wonderful Godly people, and I would not trade the years of knowing them for anything, even the pain of saying goodbye for a time.

Personally, I am thankful that I have memories. One day, those may be gone. Although it may not always seem like it, memories are a gift. They remind us of where we came from, and they can make us even more thankful to know where we are going.