Roadside Memories

By Susan Hester

Roadside Memories is a book of reflections on the roads traveled throughout my lifetime and is designed to encourage the reader to reflect on their own life journey. Instilled within the reflective memories is a desire to bring the readers a clearer understanding of the power of God's mercy and grace within our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9798350946031

Susan Hester

Susan Hart-Hester completed both undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology. She completed a doctoral degree in Special Education at the University of Virginia prior to working in the healthcare industry. Dr. Hart-Hester served as a grant writer for over twenty years before moving into workforce development and educational programming. Currently retired, Dr. Hart-Hester enjoys writing poetry and short fiction as well as serving her community.

Book preview

Prologue

I think of life as a series of journeys along many roads. These journeys fill our memory jars. Despite a lack of conscious recollection, all thoughts remain in our jars. They shape life’s decisions; our interactions with others as we journey life’s roads. Thoughts are held in our soul, our storage house for all the joys and hardships we embody. There is no thought, no action that the soul escapes. The consequences of all life’s journeys are buried within the soul. I wanted to put some placeholders to these journeys that my soul now warehouses. They are mere reflections on a few of the roadways traveled throughout my lifetime. These are the memories from my jar, memories from life’s road.

The Gravel Road

Today I looked in the mirror and saw a face that has felt the gravel of life’s roads. I closed my eyes and tried to hide behind the darkness. Yet my reflection held against the backdrop, floating along with ageless swimmers. Is it possible to change my life’s reflection? I can’t change the paths I have already chosen, so can I change the memories already placed inside my jar?

I listen to stories told around the kitchen table or backyard swing, embellished with each rendition. So, I guess we all change the memories inside our jars from time to time. But why do we change these memories along the way? Are we just being socially acceptable? At gatherings, we move towards the storytellers. We try to be storytellers. We are reinforced by smiles, by tears, by the eyes drawn to us through the stories we share.

Do we revise our memories to survive the gravel road? I think we do. Whether we understand the reason or not, the truth is that we all adjust our memories to fit our ability to cope.

The Crossroad

Many times, my journey stalled at the crossroad where faith met doubt in a battle for my soul. I have watched as storms devastated nearby communities. I have cried as catastrophic illness enveloped yet another friend. I wonder why things happen to me, to family, to friends, to strangers.

How can I wrestle against the weight of this growing doubt? I point an