Heart Travels

Ahh…Memory Lane. Sometimes when you turn onto the lane you aren’t quite sure where it will take you.

Recently I reconnected with a blast-from-the-past childhood friend via facebook. We turned onto Memory Lane and brushed spider webs out of the way along the not-so-beaten path.

As I traipsed along, memories stirred in me of my call to ministry. Not so much the actual “call” but the people that helped mentor me when they recognized a hunger for God in my life. It was a nice stroll for me.

A couple years ago I took a different trip down Memory Lane. More of a tromp than a traipse. I’m forever thankful for the friend God gave me to hold my hand down that scary path.

It seems we all have a past. Good, bad or ugly…we have a past. I am reminded of something Les always says: “Your past is only good for one thing, to see where you have come from so you can praise God for what He has brought you through.”

It reminds me of the movie Lion King (Celina calls it the big kitty movie). Here is a brief conversation between Rafika and Simba:

Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Simba: Ow! What was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past.
Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.

One of my favorite scripture passage is Isaiah 43:17-19:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

Sometimes it is impossible to really forget our past but we need to be careful that our past doesn’t hold us back from the new thing God has planned for us.

I have another friend that has found her way on Memory Lane. She isn’t traipsing or tromping. Hers is more like tip-toeing over debris, watching carefully not to trip.

I’m not really a poet, but once in awhile when I’m in a melancholy mood the inspiration will hit me in a poetic way. Here is a poem I wrote a couple years ago when I had tromped down Memory Lane:

DEBRIS

Battered and beaten

Wind blown and worn.

Soaked from the rain

My branches are torn.

Parts of me falling

Laying on the ground.

Debris piled high

A reason I found.

When debris rots

Seedlings move in.

Amazing, I know,

New growth begins.

Hard to imagine

In the midst of it all.

Good things can grow

When parts of me fall.

Clear all the damage?

Impossible you see.

Some must remain

It just has to be.
© Mari LaVell 2008

When you turn your heart down Memory Lane, do you tend to traipse, tromp, tip-toe, or trip?

I think I've experienced all of the above, but today I will choose to travel Memory Lane with a Mari Heart, knowing God has a plan and a purpose for everything.

I hope and pray your heart travels light.