The other day I was watching a show where they had to put down a horse. Tears were welling up in my eyes. I love horses and it was a sad scene. When I was a kid we had horses (that was before my Daddy left home). One horse had a colt that died in our front yard. It still stands out in my memories as being one of the saddest moments in my childhood. Daddy leaving us topped that, of course. Anyway, the horse scene got me thinking about Daddy. And I thought back to the day I stood in the emergency room and had to make a decision about what to do regarding his treatment. Everyone else in the family had left and I was alone when the doctors came in and told me he was actively dying. Even though it had been discussed a little bit between the family, I had to be the one to actually say that I didn't want them to take any extraordinary means to save him. I knew it was what he wanted. I knew the family would be in agreement. But to have to say the words was difficult. I think the doctors knew how hard it was for me. They stayed with me quite a while after they gave me the news.

It's funny how movies, music, places we go, smells, etc. bring back those moments in time that had some kind of special meaning or touched us in a way we will never be able to forget. I think it can be God's way of keeping the memory of the person alive. In some cases a specific memory may have been a moment of extreme hurt, but there comes a time when we can look back and see that even in our pain God was using it to mold us into the person He'd have us be.