25th June 2025

In my last ‘Thought’ I wrote about the problem of choosing which books to keep (and which not!) when we move to our retirement flat. Alongside that is a similar, if slightly smaller, problem of photographs.

Of course all the ones from recent years are saved electronically and some earlier ones have been scanned into the computer. Nevertheless there are lots of boxes of slides and albums full of prints. On top of that there are old family albums. Help!

One of my favourite hymns is ‘Lord for the years your love has kept and guided’ (Baptist Parise and Worship 535). Our photographs, taken over many years, serve not simply as a source for nostalgia, but more importantly to remind us of those years and give more substance to our thanks to God.

Very often these days photographs spanning his or her life are projected at a funeral or memorial service, which serves as a reminder of all that the family and friends can give thanks for in that person’s life.

But then the rest of us have to move on! The hymn ends:

Past put behind us, for the future take us;
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.

David T. Roberts