There is a picture a friend took of me with a group of children from Las Conchitas, Nicaragua. Then there is the batik which my parents gave me with a picture of an angel and a quote about angels being able to fly because they don’t take themselves too seriously. And there are the  stones in a jar from a high school retreat long ago and the card with the quote we used as our focal point for our work trip last summer. And a shadow picture of my wife and I which I  took at Arches National Park alongside a picture our grandson. Then there is a lump of coal I brought home from Hurley, Virginia. And a prayer cap from Nepal given to me by a young man from our congregation who had spent two years there in the Peace Corps. And a carving I did of St. Francis. And, on the mantel, Gandhi’s quote about being the change given to me by a colleague.

I sit surrounded by reminders.
Reminders of where I have been and who was with me.
Reminders of moments which changed me and shaped me into who I am today.
Each of them, in their own way, a reminder of what is important to me and of the values and experiences which have shaped my life and of the type of person I most want to be.

Look around.
What reminders surround you each day?