A mother and her teenage son moved to a new place to start all over again. But even with a new home, a new school and a new office, they couldn’t really leave everything behind. They still brought personal memories of their late loved one.
The last time I hugged Dad goodbye was in January 2020, before he left for the Philippines. He handed me his little wallet album and told me to take care of it—unknowingly, for good. It holds old photos of himself and my siblings, way back when we were younger, and some of our children. Every time I pick up this album, I smile and cry at the same time as memories start flooding back and think of how much I miss him.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). God posed a hard question because some like to pretend and bury a memory into nonexistence. But He also protects us from being hurt by the actions of loved ones. God knows that we can’t just throw away what we have been through with them.
Photo credit: Ruthie Cinco
