A Life Story… Told Through Boxes of Memories!

Yesterday turned out to be a very unique day.  It was both a very good day and a pretty tough one!  I’d better explain… 

When I had the rest of our belongings finally moved from storage last Friday, I directed the unloading of the items and did my best to have the boxes of the things that would end up in the house as well as those that I knew I wanted to eventually go through, placed in what will at some point, become the guest room.  Everything else went into the garage.  My plan was driven by two reasons.  The first was that I wanted to be able to have room in the garage for the car, and the second was that I figured with our weather extremes out here, that I would much rather unpack boxes in the heated/air-conditioned house than in the freezing or hot garage. 

After I unpacked the three wardrobe boxes and found clothes that I hadn’t seen for up to a year and more, I set my focus on the front bedroom with the big window that faces the street and the golf course.  This room, similar to the one we had in North Carolina, is to become my study, complete with desk, bookshelves, couch and a TV.  There are also plans for my son-in-law to install ceiling speakers in this room, the living room, master bedroom, garage and backyard. 

On Tuesday I finished re-assembling the two bookshelves and got the rest of the furniture placed where I want them in the room… leaving room for a third 80”X32” bookshelf as the other two were double stacked with books on many shelves!  What can I say… I love books!  I then spent an hour or two on Tuesday and the balance of the day on Wednesday going through boxes in the guest room in order to find all my books that I had packed back in June of 2019.

Yesterday my curiosity got the best of me when I started coming across boxes marked “Piper’s Stuff” that were taped and labeled in such a way that I knew they hadn’t been opened for quite a while… most likely since we moved from California to Oklahoma back in 2006.  Well, that’s where the good and the tough came into play.  By four in the afternoon, I had gone through documents, pictures, homeschool notes and assignments, baby notes, Bible notes, personal enrichment books, knickknacks, posters and greeting cards that told the whole story of Piper’s life from her birth at 6:29 pm on August 14, 1953 at Memorial Hospital with Dr. R. Johnston in attendance, to her obituary that I had published in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat on Sunday, September 23, 2018.

I spent most of the day on my knees between stacks of boxes viewing and reading all that information.  By four my eyes were quite red and sore… and when I stood up, my knees let me KNOW in NO uncertain terms, that they were not happy campers!  At that point, I stumbled into the living room, grabbed the dog’s leash and took him for a refreshing walk to the neighborhood playground and pond.

I gained some insights about Piper that I had never thought of before in the trek through her life that day.  Especially in many of the memories from her pre-Jim childhood.  In one gift box simply notated with a typed label “Piper Canevari”, I found a pair of her first baby shoes, some cute baby clothes, documents from her birth and hospital care and then a couple of short diaries that her Mom had written during Piper’s first year of life.  Also included in the box were pictures of a two or three-year-old Piper with her cousins on her Dad’s side, pictures of a very young Piper with her cat “Midnight” to which Piper had penned on the back: “I love my cat Midnight and always will!”  Then there were some Church summer camp group shots when Piper was in Junior High.  In the camp pictures, Piper was in the back row with an obvious “What kind of trouble can we get in today” sly grin on her face… Ah! Now that’s MY girl!!!

As I sat on the couch after dinner, I thought about all that I had witnessed that day and began to see the transition that Piper had made throughout the years, in becoming the women that she eventually became in life.  I saw proof of the sweet childhood she had lived, the love of her young mother toward her first child and the early influences of her family that shaped her personality, beliefs and outlook on life by the time I entered the picture.  But I also saw an independent Piper who developed into a strong, mature, vibrant, dedicated, joyful, faith-filled, Word of God believing Christian who in many ways, differed from the rest of her family.

John 9:23 does a good job at describing the Piper that everyone knew and loved.  Here Jesus told his disciples (ie; you and me) “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes." (God’s Word ©)  As I’ve stated many times, she was not satisfied at just  being a bystander in life.  She LOVED and THRIVED the most when she was right in the MIDDLE of the action.  Whether it was playing a game of touch football on the beach, teaching homeschool, leading our own kids or the youth or Children’s Church in a lesson or activity at home, vacation, a retreat or during a Sunday Service, she enjoyed a hands-on experience.  The same was true in the way she loved me as well as in the way that she pursued active, totally immersed adventures in the miraculous promises of God… and she did it all with great joy and abandonment.  

Come to think of it… that’s also a good description of the way we lived our 48 years together! 

How would you characterize your life?  What scripture would most define you?  I hope your day is going well today.  On this Thursday, I’m sticking strictly to unloading and re-shelving all my books.  I don’t think I’m ready for another day like yesterday… maybe tomorrow!  But like Piper, I’m still expecting all things to be possible as I choose to actively believe in my Father God and His Word.  How ‘bouts you?