Thanks for the memories. Leslie was born the fifth of seven children to a stonemason from London and a Welsh mother who occasionally sang light opera, but mostly made a living being a cleaning lady. In 1908 the entire family emigrated to the United States, and passed inspection on Ellis Island on March 30th. From New York, they traveled West and finally settled to call Cleveland home.
From the age of twelve, Leslie wanted to be in the entertainment business, earning pocket money by singing, dancing and occasionally offering comedic banter. A friend suggested that Leslie just wasn’t a good name for an entertainer, and recommended that it be changed to “Lester.” Still not getting the attention desired, in 1929 the name was changed again, this time to mimic a friendly racecar driver.
By 1951, Bob Hope was one of the Hollywood’s brightest stars, literally recognized and loved around the world. His name almost guaranteed box office success. Hope had successfully transitioned from radio to television. There was a special place reserved in the hearts of Americans for this comedian because of his generous work with USO tours during World War II. Hope was Christmas for many members of the Armed Services and their families.
Paramount Pictures scheduled Hope for the remake of an old film called The Lemon Drop Kid. Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, who had scored an earlier Hope movie, were commissioned to develop the music. Upon perusing the script, they noticed that the holiday movie didn’t spotlight Christmas in a rural setting, but rather on the sidewalks of New York. Display windows in department stores, anxious shoppers, the gleeful look on children’s faces, and the constant tinkle of bells from Salvation Army volunteers provided the backdrop for their compositions.
The storyline of the movie was set at the Christmas holidays and involved raising money – albeit in a shady way – for a home for elderly ladies. The memories of this particular movie were so touching to Hope that he adopted the song “Thanks for the Memories” as his theme song. The music resonated with troops around the world when Hope toured for the USO organization.
But memories at the holidays don’t always hold pleasant thoughts and dreams for people. A recent article in Psychology Today states that the holiday season often carries contextual clues that trigger related memories. Perhaps this has happened to you. In the midst of a happy celebration, suddenly a sad memory comes to mind. Decorating, shopping, or holiday dinners seem to be happy occasions, yet for you such acts suddenly prompt memories of someone who is no longer with you.
Last week we began to think about some of the reasons that the holidays are difficult for some people, and we wanted to tackle some practical ways that we can overcome some of the holiday related stressors. We first looked at keeping God a significant priority in our lives – relying and leaning on the One who holds our circumstances and our world in His hands.
Today the suggestion is to take control and charge of our memories. Why we cannot always control the things that pop into our minds, we can control how we view and perceive the memories.
There is an interesting passage of Scripture in the Old Testament, penned by the hand of Israel’s King Solomon.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 6a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
There is a voice inside my head that wants to sing “Turn! Turn! Turn!” from the song by Pete Seeger that was made popular by the Byrds in the 1960’s. One of the phrases has long troubled me. Solomon says there is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them together. That is so much opposite of what I would have written.
I tend to gather stones together first and then I seem to want to build something with them. Whether it be literal stones or Lego blocks when the children were small, I gathered and then I built. Solomon must have been confused with how we usually use stone.
But in the Old Testament stones were used as memorials. Remember the many times that the children of Israel were encouraged to build a monument of stones at a place so that future generations would always remember what had occurred at the location? Solomon says sometimes we need to scatter those stones because we shouldn’t remember everything. Then he says carefully consider the memories that you choose to gather together.
If I understand Solomon correctly, this passage tells us that things change in life. There are seasons for everything, and God holds them all in His hands. Things stay the same. Earlier in Ecclesiastes, the wise king says that there is nothing new under the sun. But all of the things under the sun have God fingerprints and purpose all over them. The only thing we control is how we respond.
This holiday season, grab control of your memories. Glean through them, scattering the ones necessary to remove. The stones you choose to keep, notice closely the fingerprints of God upon them. You never walk this journey alone. My memory – and my God – should always remind me of that truth.