Most of my life I have never been interested in ceremonies, events, birthdays, and such occasions. Ceremonies, for me, were a lot of effort making a big deal out of a normally small event.

However, as I reflect back over my life at this time of Thanksgiving, I've changed my mind.

All that I have left of my life, of all the places I traveled, of all the things that I did, and of all the people that I have known, all that's left is just memories.

Some memories are stronger than others, but all the memories exist only as pictures in my mind. As I recall those pictures, I can also re-experience the emotions of the events, the joys, the sorrows, the profound insights, the regrets. Even some seemingly insignificant moments remain in memory because of how they touched my heart.

If I string together the memories and make a movie of my life, it certainly wouldn't be a "blockbuster hit".

I notice that almost all of the exciting parts and memorable parts of the movie of my life are those "special" moments when I (1) had an experience with God or (2) shared a deep experience with someone else.

The lasting memories with others are often because I/we took the time and made the effort to make it special. We made a "big deal" out of it, even if it really wasn't that big of a deal.

I feel deep gratitude today for my wonderful family and the happiness that we can all share.

My regret is that many a weekend has slipped past us when we didn't make the effort to do anything special with each other. That weekend is lost forever. We didn't exert the effort that it takes to "make" a memory. Memories can just happen on their own, I suppose, but they don't come as often and they are more random.

Doing something unusual, out of the ordinary, creates a memory and captures it forever for us, especially a shared memory.

Ceremonies, celebrations and traditions are some of the real "stuff" that life is made of. That's one of the things that I'd like to share for this Thanksgiving.

When you make an otherwise ordinary event into something special, then you elevate it to a valuable memory. You create another link in the bond of love that encircles the people with whom you shared the experience.

Make lots of ceremonies and traditions in your life.

Make family traditions. These are an external representation of the love you have for each other. These can also be a wonderful representation of your love for your God. Traditions have value because they bond people together in a common experience. It connects their lives to higher meaning and purpose and value.

Love is all about connecting to each other. Give and take in a tradition that is repeated over and over develops a stronger and stronger bond of love.

Prayer is a shared experience, especially if you spend time communicating afterward what is there in your heart.

Traditions and celebrations not only carry on the bonds of love, but also they are actually building blocks for continuing the goodness in families and the goodness in our society. They help us discern the eternal from the ordinary.

Let's resolve to make our holidays this year extra special by achieving a new level of love and service to others. Heaven can always use the extra help when the world is having a crisis.