reminders

Yesterday I was talking to someone about how some of the people I've met in Philly remind me of people back home. Its pretty funny how that happens. How certain people talk, act, their mannerisms here in Philly are very similar to a different person back in Toronto. Some even look alike! Maybe how you act inwardly has to do with how you look outwardly... Anyways, everytime I talk with these individuals it reminds me of friends back in Toronto and it reminds me of home. And that's cool. I like reminders of home. Reminders allow us to remember things that we may not remember otherwise. And its cool how God gives us so many different types of reminders in our lives to look back on and laugh about, to be thankful about, etc.

Sounds:

Certain songs remind me of certain people, or certain times. The Spice Girls remind me of my teenage years - when I was crazy about them and even bought the movie. (Yes, I know how sad that is.. hehe) I Swear by All 4 One was my first slow dance back in grade 7. I Wanna Be With You by Mandy Moore and Lucky by Britney Spears were 2 of my car anthums (Yes, I am quite the sap :P), Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond reminds me of Niagara Falls with Joyce, Can you feel the love tonight by Elton John reminds me of Dancing with Joyce, You are good and Lord of the Harvest remind me of Urbana 2003, Praise God on High and Beauty of the Earth reminds me of Willowcreek, Uptown Girls reminds me of karaoke revolution and DDR (from last week) and so on and so on.

Sights:

Certain objects, symbols and colours remind me of things. Red reminds me to stop. Green reminds me to go. Yellow reminds me to be careful. Orange reminds me of Dunamis (my softball baby hehe). The bread reminds me of Jesus' body which was broken for me. Wine reminds me of the blood Jesus shed for me. Clouds remind me of Joyce. Snow reminds me of Christmas. Mountains remind me of snowboarding. Maple leafs remind me of Canada. The cross reminds me of Jesus. The sunset reminds me of God's beautiful creation. DDR now reminds me of the SnL fellowship in Philly. Bubble tea reminds me of the RHCBC fellowships. Blizzards from Diary Queen will remind me of my car filling up with snow at retreat (Grrr Dairy Queen).

Numbers

1 reminds me of new beginnings
3 reminds me of me and my brothers (triplets! hehe)
5 reminds me of my family
12 reminds me of Roberto Alomar, the best Blue Jay ever
17 reminds me of softball, my favorite number, the day I was born
42 reminds me of Joyce (the answer to everything? hehe)
99 reminds me of Wayne Gretzky
101 reminds me of the 101 dalmations
139 reminds me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made
3:16 reminds me that I am saved
9.11 reminds me to be grateful for and to cherish the relationships that I have; it reminds me that heroes are those who love others enough to risk their lives; and it reminds me that although life is fragile, God is strong
12.25 reminds me of Christmas, my favorite holiday
1992 reminds me of when the Blue Jays won the world series
1993 reminds me of when the Blue Jays won the world series.. again (against the Philadelphia Phillies! yeye)
1998 reminds me of summer retreat ("I will not be shaken") when I first accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior
2000 reminds me of my baptism
2003 reminds me of Urbana
55378008 reminds me of elementary school when we used to play with our calculators (yes I was a nerd :P)

God gives us reminders so that we wont forget our past. The past shows us how we have been shaped by God. The past consists of all the events and people that helped to mold us into who we are today. All these reminders ultimately remind me that God is faithful. God has blessed me in the past, is blessing me in the present, and will bless me in the future. He is forever faithful.

"He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God."
~Psalm 98:3