Making Memories

Holidays are wonderful for many reasons, but the greatest for me is about making memories with my family. This Easter my family and I travelled up the coast and stayed at a place called Yarrahapinni. We arrived late in the afternoon, unpacked the car and then headed down this sandy track towards the beach. When we arrived at the beach, we found it littered with driftwood from all the recent floods. We were the only ones on the beach, the sky was clear, the sun was setting and the stars were starting to twinkle. It was beautiful. What made it even more special was there was an old fire pit ready to be re-fuelled and ignited! So, we did our part to clean up the beach by using some of the driftwood for the fire and then got the fire going. We all sat around the warmth of the fire, shared stories and looked for shooting stars. This was the beginning of our holiday.

We were so thankful that we got to spend that special time together making memories as a family. What made it even more special was that it was so unexpected. We had no idea that was going to happen, it was like God had set the whole thing up for us to help us slow down and connect with Him and with each other.

“A 2019 study by the University of Cambridge in England found that the ability to remember pleasant events in detail is associated with lower cortisol levels and fewer negative self-appraisals in young people at risk for depression due to early life stress.” Dr Adrian Askelund says, “We found that those who recall more specific positive events from their past had better mental health after major stressors.” (Markham Heid, Elemental, 'The Power of Positive Memories' Dec 5, 2019). 

I know that holidays are over and life for you may be in full swing. But why not take some time this term to slow down with your family and make some positive memories? This will set them up to be more resilient for the stressful times ahead. Who knows what may happen? If you create the time and space, maybe God will surprise you with a fire on the beach under the stars?

Pr James Greensill

Primary Chaplain