I know this is true for me.  

Over the past several months I have experienced a great many changes and transitions.  Although some of these changes were unplanned and unwanted, I believe all change is for the good and ultimately designed to improve some areas where I was stuck.  My identity and life was being redefined.   Inadvertently, I was led to thinking about and questioning many aspects of who I was and why.  

In the process of change, which involved much letting go and loss, I admit I felt much personal anxiety, even mild depression.  I guess I got too caught up in the fear of looking at my current situation and contemplating my future, without the benefit of considering the past.  I call this lingering in the hallway between one door being closed and another door opening.  I began to question if I was really satisfied with who I was, where I was in my life and career, and the direction my life was headed. I started focusing on all I had lost, the dreams that would never become reality, how cheated I felt.   Slowly, this led me to become moody, self-destructive and sad.   I was in a crisis.

Then something happened which helped me to gain a more positive perspective.  Something that left me feeling very fortunate for where I am in my life and for all the things that fill my life.

I was cleaning out my office  and found boxes  of memorabilia and photos  I had collected and saved over the years.  I never realized what a pack rat I was. I blew the dust off the box and dumped the contents out onto the floor.  

I sat down and one by one carefully examined each item. There were some things I couldn't remember why I had ever saved in the first place; an old movie stub, a bottle cap, a fountain pen.  But there were many others, which held great significance and which brought back a flood of memories.  

Things which, when combined, made a path of sorts leading me to where I am now. I found an old high school report card, which reminded me just how lucky I was to ever have graduated, considering my many distractions, let alone to have gone on to finish college in the early 80s.  I found letters and cards of encouragement from my parents and family.

Photos of my husband reminded me of how lucky I was to have met him at a time when I believed I’d never get married.   I gained much valuable experience about what it means and feels like to love someone and to be loved.  Our mutual dedication enabled us to have made it through several years together - through all the challenges and hardships we faced. 

I spent a long time going through the contents of my clutter, reliving moments from my past.  I could see much clearer the path I had taken to get to where I am now.  This enabled me to understand how my choices, circumstances and beliefs profoundly influenced my journey.

Rather than continuing to question how satisfied I am where that path has led me, I am grateful to God for having been allowed to make the journey at all. I want others to feel that gratitude  by helping them share their own life stories and memoirs for themselves and for their family heritage.  We underestimate the importance of our lives, which is a unique and precious piece of time that should not be forgotten. 

It's good to examine our lives and ourselves.  But when we do, it's important to retrace the paths we've taken to get to where we are now - remembering the struggles we've encountered, the hurdles we've overcome, and the love we've found along the way.  How we view our life.  While we’re reminiscing one of the most important things we can do is to record them for posterity.