October 1, 2026
My youngest granddaughter, Lottie, is normally the first one up in the morning. She will crawl into my bed and just get comfy and want to talk. One morning this week, we went through old videos on my phone. Our family beach vacation is coming up this month, so Lottie chose to watch old vacation videos.
I can't remember exactly how many years or when we even started doing family vacations, but looking back at pictures, I know it has been at least eleven years. Eleven years of wonderful memories. I can totally identify with Mary in Luke 2:19 that says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." There is such wonder and beauty in holding on to precious memories and also taking the time to reflect on them. Watching those videos made me realize how quickly time passes.
From our first trip with just five little girls ages 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 to our trip this year, where we have six girls ages 17, 16, 15, 13, 12, and 9, and one lone grandson age 10. My, how times change but the memories linger in your heart.
Treasure and ponder your memories, for time passes quickly.
Another thing that struck me was how great a God we serve. It has not always been easy financially to come up with the money to pay for a family vacation, but somehow God always provided. It might have been an unexpected tax return, a bonus from a job, or even a refund on an escrow account.
The point is that God was faithful to provide for something that was a desire of our hearts and important to us. We wanted to share that time together with our children and grandchildren. Psalms 77:11 says, "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds."
God has always been faithful, even when we might not have known how we were going to make it work. He granted us a desire of our hearts to make wonderful memories with our family. Treasure the time that God provides with your loved ones and thank Him for it. Wayne and I pray that our children and grandchildren will know how much we love them and our great a God we serve. I hope they see that every moment is special and our God is good. Psalms 136:1 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."
We also pray that they will have wonderful memories to treasure and ponder in their hearts long after we are gone. Memories of great fun, lots of laughter, wonderful chaos, and lots of love.
I realize you don't have to be on vacation to make memories. You can make them anywhere at any time. The older I get, making memories and letting others know how special and loved they are becomes more and more important to me. I want to build memories with the ones I love, being greatly aware of the fact that every moment shared is a gift from God and an opportunity to share His love.
I encourage and challenge you to be aware of the opportunities to make those memories. I firmly believe the memories we make today will be the legacy and stories our children and grandchildren will carry and talk about through all their tomorrows. Let's make them count!
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Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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