Are you forgetful, too?
I’m not fantastic at remembering things. I remember plenty of useless things (like every word to the Saved By the Bell and Fresh Prince theme songs), but as for what I had for lunch yesterday or where I’m supposed to be at 3:00 pm tomorrow, I couldn’t tell ya. Are you forgetful, too? Or am I standing here in my forgetfulness alone? Haha!
Because of this, I have to help myself remember things that matter. For example, I use this handy notepad to plan our meals so I’ll remember there’s an actual plan for the unusually large bag of broccoli florets and the leafy bundle of beets. (No, not for the same recipe in case you are concerned.) I’ve had a long habit of using a prayer journal to chronicle important conversations with the Lord, verses that grab my attention, and moments I don’t want to forget. And, of course, there’s my Outlook calendar. I live by it. It tells me where to go, how to use my time, and what Zoom link to use. Without it, I would be absolutely lost and likely very, very late.
A very cold birthday week here in south Texas! (p.s. That’s my momma in the adorable blue jacket!)
In the recent celebration of my 38th birthday, I took a day off from work to have some uninterrupted time with my journal to remember the good and the hard from my year of being 37, and to talk to the Lord about what He might do in my year of being 38.
I think building rhythms to remember where we’ve been is important, but sometimes it’s hard. Not just because schedules are overflowing and it’s near impossible to secure a long stretch free of appointments or errands, but because the actual remembering can feel hard and emotional.
I started with a brain dump of anything noteworthy from the last 365 days:
Started homeschooling
Global pandemic
Getting COVID-19
Remodeling a 130-year-old house
Brain-eating amoeba in our water
Major health challenges & surgery for my dad
Health challenges for me
Texas froze in an unprecedented arctic winter event (the week of my birthday)
(I feel the need to pause and assure you I’m not borrowing the brain-eating amoeba catastrophe from a sci-fi film. It was a very real and lengthy process of returning our water supply to normal.)
There was much more on the list, but you get the idea. Overall, there were heavy memories with a few bright spots. I sat with the heaviness in silence instead of brushing past it, trusting God was right there with me as I felt it all. Then, these words slowly but deliberately flowed through the tip of my pen: “Yet, Father, you carried and lead and comforted. You were and are Sovereign over all.”
My filter shifted from remembering what I’d done or what happened around me to really remembering God.
As I made remembering Him my primary filter - how He worked, how He accomplished, how He provided, how He brought us through, the conversation took a dramatic turn.
I filled pages with moments and memories of God’s goodness on display, not in spite of what was hard and heartbreaking, but right in the midst of it.
Aren’t these words from Lamentations 3:19-24 just perfect?
I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all — oh, how well I remember — the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
His merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
(From The Message; emphasis mine.)
Do you see the value and the beauty of remembering here? It’s how we keep a grip on hope!
I need to remember God when things are great AND when things are hard. I need to remember when things are great so I don’t forget just how dependent on God I really am. I need to remember when things are hard so I don’t forget His goodness and His faithfulness.
What about you? When was the last time you set aside some extended time to remember God? Could you carve out some time this week?
If today’s conversation resonates with you, you may appreciate this podcast episode from Bridgetown Church. It’s short and powerful - don’t miss the song at the end!