It began yesterday, and had nothing whatsoever to do with Easter.

Oh, we had a lovely Easter day…beautiful church service, a nice meal, a wonderful, nourishing rain. But, later in the afternoon, beds were stripped, and equipment was unpacked from a certain closet in my favorite room of the house. Yes, the preparations for my little darlings (including their bigger – but not by much – darling mother) began in earnest.

That closet is wonderfully large, so I sat up the Breyer horses/barn, and the dollhouse, in there so that Lilli could have a place to play that kept Brody away from small parts and from wreaking general havoc. That meant I had to go through old equipment they’d both outgrown, decide what to keep and what to get rid of, and rearrange the toys on the shelf to suit both of their current ages.

Going through things that way makes you remember. I’m so fortunate to have a store of memories, already, of them being here in this house. We’ve only been in it a little over two years, but they’ve both been here multiple times. As I handled each item, I remembered times that they’ve played with them, or slept in them, or tossed them around in the bath. Different stages of getting teeth, toddling versus walking, little red boots, and the camo Crocs that are set aside for Brody, on probably his next trip.

It all made me think of something I recently read by Winston Churchill:

Let us command the moment to remain.

Oh, how tempting that is! I feel it every single time I’m around those babies. Yet, if one moment remains, it’s at the forfeit of every moment to come, and I wouldn’t have the ever-building store to relish.

And there is JOY in the relishing, yes?

Maybe, Mr. Churchill, it should be ourselves we are commanding, instead of the moments. Perhaps the answer is for us to remain in each moment as it comes, then relive each one as often as we like, leaving much to relish.

Remain.

Relive.

Relish.

To me, it sounds like a way to squeeze every last drop out of this life, and that’s…well, that’s a command I can live with.

“Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now.” Ecclesiastes 5:20 MSG