Grandma's Attic

"Oh, look at this!" exclaimed Aunt Jessie as she and Melanie were cleaning Grandma's attic. "Here's a box of mementos from when I was in high school!"Melanie took a pair of neon green sunglasses from the box and put them on. "Why did you keep these?" "Tom gave those to me after he won them at the county fair," Aunt Jessie replied with a smile. "I haven't thought about him in years." As she sorted through the other things in the box, she told Melanie about each item and how she'd gotten it."Don't you forget anything, Aunt Jessie?" asked Melanie. "Everything you see reminds you of something! Your head must be stuffed fuller than this attic."Aunt Jessie laughed. "Well, I've heard that people never really forget anything. Everything we experience is stored in our brains, but it may take something like a memento to bring it into a part of the mind where we can recall it." She stretched her arms. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired. Let's take a break."They went to the kitchen to get a snack. "What do you have in your attic, Melanie?" Aunt Jessie asked as they ate. Melanie started thinking about the attic at home, but Aunt Jessie leaned forward and tapped her on the head. "What I mean is, what do you have stored up here? I hadn't seen the things stored in Grandma's attic for years, but they brought back good memories. Like her attic, your mind is storing things too.""Yeah, I guess that's true," said Melanie. "Sometimes a song pops into my head, even if I haven't heard it for a long time!"Aunt Jessie nodded. "Bible verses do the same thing. Even if you haven't thought of a particular verse for years, something may suddenly bring it to mind. So, are there lots of Bible verses in the storage area of your brain?"Melanie shrugged. "I try to learn as many as I can.""Once memories are in place, things we see or hear can bring them back," said Aunt Jessie. "When you memorize God's Word, He can use people and events to bring it to mind when you need it. That's one way the Holy Spirit helps you each day."-Catherine Runyon