Colleen Spiro ponders how the priceless gift of her childhood photo albums has given her comfort after the death of her mother.
I haven’t been writing much lately, especially since my mother died. However, I have been praying. Many prayers like "Please help!"
Jesus promises to be with us always. That is my faith. So I know that He must be holding me, helping me to put one foot in front of the other. Still, I miss my mother every day.
I have decided to start writing again. For real, I hope. Writing will help me to pray. And grow closer to God. And feel happy again. Writing is a wonderful form of prayer. Especially if you just let the words flow out onto your paper (or computer screen).
My husband and I have been going through our little condo, reorganizing the rooms and all of our “stuff.” What a job that is! We actually managed to go through all of our loose photos and old photo albums and organize them into a series of complete albums of our lives and our family.
I know that everyone keeps photos on their phone and computer, but these are photos that go back to the pre-computer age. The “olden days.” And we need to keep these pictures and pass them on. I have to tell you, it is really comforting to hold a photo of my mother in my hand. And see her as a little girl with her parents and siblings. Or as a young mother, holding her oldest daughter -- me.
My mother left me photo albums from my life as a child, from my birth to my wedding. And a few from the early years of our marriage. I was able to then put together an album of my childhood, going back to before I was born, including wedding pictures of my mother and pictures of her as a little girl. My husband has organized his childhood photo album, too.
It has been a major project for us, but it’s really an awesome thing. We plan to sit down with our children and show them our lives. We want to share our lives and tell the stories of these relatives they have never met or don’t remember. A gift from my husband and me to our children and grandchildren.
Priceless.
And I think this photo project has helped me to deal with my grief over losing my mother. Seeing her life and her loves and her joy has helped me see what a good and happy life she had. I guess the “Please Help” prayers did help.
Thank you, Lord, for all the gifts you have given me. Especially the gifts of Love. And Life.
And Family.
Copyright 2021 Colleen Spiro
