Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. – 2 Kings 23:1-3

This is a post I could easily recreate every time Rebekah and I drive over to Wake Forest and move the packing process forward.

I’m talking about the discovery – or rediscovery – of things we had maybe forgotten about, or kept in such safe places the treasure worked its way to the back of our minds, or deep into a drawer. And then we talk about what we have found, or read the old articles again, and we go searching for more of the same – and get nothing done in the way of moving for an hour or more.

Sometimes I wonder if we need to move every few years just to remind ourselves of what we have?

Four artifacts:

First, my dad’s pocket watch. I’m pretty sure it was my grandfather’s too… and maybe his father’s before him. I could run the serial number and know its date for sure. I remember watching in awe as a child, when dad or grandpa would ceremoniously excavate the timepiece from a deep pocket to elaborately determine the hour. It still runs beautifully, keeping excellent time.

Then the (above) black and white photograph from 1982. It’s a feature article that ran in The Pensacola News Journal when Trinity Presbyterian Church made the bold move of calling a woman as associate pastor. Of course we know the rest of the story, as the church exploded with growth – especially in the targeted areas of young families, children and community mission.

But in that moment you can see even Andrew (three months) looking at me with this, “Okay, dad, seriously; do y’all even have a clue…?”

My next picture features a wonderfully energetic painting Naomi did in the spring on 1992. She was seven years old and her talent was already making itself evident. She painted the way she played the piano, with bold, confident splashes – nothing held back. Some kids got bogged down in detail, trying to get it exactly “right.” This has never been Naomi’s approach… in anything! But with that confidence came a refreshing charge of creative energy and it (almost) always worked!

Finally, my cricket bat. No, I do not intend to explain the nuances of the game to you in this moment, but back in high school I played cricket the way Naomi painted! Believe me, not holding back makes it a lot more fun. Regardless, it’s a great game – and when you understand the strategy even a three or five-day match can be captivating.

So we are dealing with all this stuff. I have this uneasy balance in my life between being fascinated with the idea of minimalism and at the same time deeply invested in interesting and beautiful things. I think what is powerful about artifacts is how they connect us to stories. And stories are a huge part of understanding how we are defined by experience and memory.

It’s all about the stories!

I would love to own a Monet, for example, or a Van Gogh. but given the choice I would take the sunflowers Naomi painted when she was seven in a heartbeat. Ditto the pocket watch and the photograph of Andrew at 12-weeks giving me “the look”!

I can’t help but think about the scripture from 2 Kings quoted at the beginning of this post. The Hebrew people rediscovered God’s law after a long time and – get this – they suddenly remembered who they were.

Think about this: If we walk away from faith, and from church, it’s not the hypocrites or the “bad religion” we lose, it’s the irreplaceable story of who we are.

In the Bible passage King Josiah renews The Covenant with all his heart and soul, and the people follow his lead.

The Covenant wasn’t just some artifact, it was their identity; the New Covenant is ours. Some things are too important not to save and to honor and to live into… and to make sure that we pass on to the next generation. – DEREK