Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The Gift of Remembering

God wants us to remember things.

He promised that whenever He sees a rainbow in the clouds, He'll remember the covenant that He made with Noah.(Genesis 9:14-16)

He wants us to remember the slavery from which He bought and saved us... and to recount it to our children and grandchildren.  (Deut. 6: 20-23)

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would help the disciples to remember the things that He had taught them.  (John 14:26)

In their distress, many psalmists remembered the Lord--His name, His works, His character--and were helped. (42, 103, 111, 119, 143, and others!)

I think it's so sad when a person--usually elderly--begins to lose his memory.  What do you have if you are unable to remember things?

And so I take lots of pictures of my children so I can remember this season when they are grown.

Sometimes, though, when they look a certain way or do something exceptionally sweet, I am compelled to pick up the camera and capture it.  Like the way her lips pucker when she sleeps.

Or how proud they are when they cut lovely bouquets of flowers for me.

I certainly don't want to forget their vivid imaginations!  
"Mommy, I'm pretending I'm running away.  Don't worry--I won't go far."

I want to remember that sometimes, I was a fun mom who served them strawberry shortcake for breakfast.

I want to remember how much they LOVE playing with their cousins.

I want to remember that they were so easily delighted.
(Free lunch program at the local high school, anyone?)

I'm quite certain that God wants me to remember the preciousness of these fleeting years.  The girls, and the memories we make together... they're a kindness of God for just a brief time.  I want to remember!

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