By Nena Harding
When I Skyped my friends in Dorset last week, I was sharing how stuck I was about what I might offer for a musing this time. I was so touched when within the hour, Fred had written an email describing how he had suddenly remembered meeting with God in a sunrise moment many decades ago, and how God had spoken so clearly to him through the images in front of him – the darkness of the woods, the light of the new day, the warmth of the sun, the sparkling waters of the lake. God’s words of encouragement were so timely and powerful that Fred had painted the scene.
Yesterday on our weekly catch-up, he said, “I had forgotten all about that painting – but I still have it in the loft. Thank you for causing me to remember!”
It all reminded me of a moment that I too had forgotten from 40+ years ago when all I could see was grey bleakness in life ahead. I remember looking up for some reason and above me the clouds parted just a bit, and the sunlight shining down through that gap was lacing the cloud edges with gold. God spoke very clearly and gave me some promises which I held onto for many difficult years, and He faithfully delivered above and beyond all that He had promised.
Isn’t it strange how dusty our memories can be sometimes when it comes to remembering and retrieving special moments? A very wise Christian in my home group back in the nineties, advised us to write down the “God moments” with the date and relevance. I can remember thinking “but I will never forget that” … yet the stuff of life does indeed mean that we forget. I am so glad I have written notes to look back on and rejoice afresh.
This is the time of year when we are urged to do a lot of remembering – remember to put the clocks back (and try to remember how on earth did we change the car clock!!)… remember the 5th of November (do you remember those primitive guys proudly sitting in old pushchairs with scruffy lads asking for “A penny for the guy”)?… and of course, all that Armistice means to us in our remembering.
There are many references to “remembering” in the Bible, especially the Old Testament. It seems that the Israelites also had problems remembering what God had ordained or done for His people. It is poignant when Jeremiah warned, “But my people have forgotten me” (Jeremiah 18:15).
We have the advantage of so many scriptures written down for us to help our “Forgetteries”. Paul needed to remind the Corinthians to look to what Jesus had achieved on the cross, not Paul, and went on to urge them to remember the words of Jesus when breaking bread and sharing wine “in remembrance of Me”. Let’s ask God to help us remember – and rejoice.
(Photo by Thomas Koukas on Unsplash)
