If you’ve ever loved someone with dementia you know that my next statement is true: their minds are like a lamp with a frayed electrical cord. Flip the switch and the light might flicker on once, twice, ten times, or even a thousand times. But then, there is a short circuit. You flip the switch and there is only darkness as their memories grow dim or go dark completely.
It’s unthinkable that we could forget our spouse of fifty years, the babies we rocked, the grandchildren who first called us “Nana” or “Papa.” Except, sometimes we do. It is possible for the silhouettes of our very favorite faces to become fuzzy, for the memories of our very best days to drift out of reach.
God has always been good. He has always been faithful. We may meditate on His character once, ten times, or even a thousand, and see the light of truth flicker on in our hearts. But then, there is a short circuit. We simply forget who God truly is. Mustard-seed faith becomes too hard to muster up, and we can’t recall the memories of His kindness toward us. Our brokenness, it seems, has frayed our heartstrings. Spiritually speaking, all of God’s children are prone to forget what He has done. Through His Word, God shows us that remembrance isn’t passive. It’s not a fleeting memory or a fanciful notion. Remembrance is a verb, an action, a choice that allows us to hold tightly to the truth of who God is.
When God’s children crossed the Jordan into the land they’d long longed for, God commanded them to remember (Joshua 4). He ordered men to place stones on their shoulders. But these stones were not mere pebbles. They were stones of remembrance that required each man to stoop, to pick up, to haul their memories of what God could do.
When Jesus gathered with His disciples in the upper room on the eve of His crucifixion, He implemented a similar object lesson, an act to do “in remembrance” of Him (Luke 22:19). It’s hard to fathom that Christ’s friends could forget the sermons they’d heard delivered straight from the Son of God. Unthinkable that they’d ever deny that He was who He said He was. But they could. They did. In His mercy, Jesus was showing them (and through them, showing us), how to remember the things that matter most.
When the psalmist faced a dark night of the soul and struggled to see the light of hope, he defaulted to rhythms of remembrance: I remember. I meditate. I reflect (Psalm 143:4–5). As he reached for His memories of God’s deeds from the past, the light came back on.
We are people of faith with frayed cords. Until Christ’s return, we will always have moments of forgetfulness. But God has given us the tool we need to close the circuit again. We need only to “remember the LORD’s works” (Psalm 77:11).
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72 thoughts on "Remembrance"
I really needed this. It is a very overwhelming crushing time in my life. I woke up thinking “how much more can I handle God?” Today I’ll choose to remember how much He has already brought me through.
Needed this today! Thank you.
How humbling it is to know how much I forget and need to remember!
This may be my favourite day! As I read the words I realized just how much I needed this reminder of remembrance, often hour by hour this week! To remember all He has done gives me confidence for the future with Him! ♥️
Amen
Lord when I struggle to see the light of hope, help me to remember, meditate, and reflect. You are faithful, great if your faithfulness to me!
Praying for you today, Danielle!
❤️
Praying for you, Danielle!
Beautiful
Danielle praying that your cancer has not spread and praying for strength & healing for your body & peace & comfort for your mind & soul.
Praying for you Danielle.
Jeanne,
Your words were a gift to me today. We do have to keep things in perspective and live one moment at a time in God’s love and provision, especially when we feel Satan attacking from all sides. Praying for peace and strength for you.
Thank you for sharing Chryso. Beautiful. My Grandpa used to do the same before he died.
Praying for you Danielle.
DANIELLE, coming to the table late…
But God..
Dear sister, he hears the prayers of this late comer.
Praying your cancer has not spread, BUT THAT IT HAS SHRUNK.. In Jesus name..
Amen.
Keeping you in my prayers DANIELLE and hoping your faith and hope in Jesus, will keep your strength up, and remind you of who He is..The father, your strength, your comforter, your healer.. only He can..
But God..❤
@Sarah D.
My email : [email protected]
Would love to meet and talk with you.
You have grown so much in your faith walk and
have blessed me so much by your transparency
You have your life ahead of you and I am
looking forward to semi-retirement.
May God bless you greatly my dear younger sister in Christ
@Sarah D.
My email : [email protected]
Would love to meet and talk with you.
You have grown so much in your faith walk and
have blessed me so much by your transparency
You have your life ahead of you and I am
looking forward to semi-retirement.
May God bless you greatly my dear younger sister in Christ
DANIELLE ZUNIGA Praying for you beloved sister in Christ.
May God bless you and heal you.
The file cabinet in my brain can be overwhelmed at times with the data input. I weigh out the energy it will take to keep that memory of fact or fiction and, often times, choose to let something go for the sake of the whole. There is more valuable information to be stored and I must make room…..I have wandered in my faith. I’m not proud of it. I was raised in a Christ loving home. I should have never forgotten who and where God is…but I did. The light of faith in me never faded completely but it was being suffocated and starved by other things I thought were important. Suffering hit in a tidal wave. Again and again I was thrashed by things that were out of my control but yet I didn’t cling to the one safety net I had. I just kept moving from crisis to crisis trying to find air to breathe in between. Cancer, death, betrayal, poverty, pride, failure….More and more of it until I felt numb. That sort of numbness is isolating, dark and lonely. But one day, I was listening to a podcast while driving and the speaker said something….I’m not even sure I remember exactly what it was, but it struck me like an arrow. Gods words flew into me and I felt it…the weight of the truth. The truth carries a weight no lie can counterfeit and God is the only truth. I started to thaw and feel again. Slowly I am crawling back…on my knees…my head bent…seeking out more of that truth. The more I hear it, the more I open myself to God and listen to him, the more I remember what it feels like to be loved and feel at peace. Now, suffering is a gift. It’s a place I can find him. But so can I in times of peace.
Thank you Pam, I am eternally grateful for your prayers!
Thank you Mari V, I am so grafteuk for your prayers
Thank you, I ask for your prayers that my cancer has not spread to my sternum & back. I need my prayer warriors more than ever! I have my CT scans on Monday. Thank you, thank you for keeping me in your prayers.
Chryso, thank you for your story and your insight.
Thank you for all the beautiful remembrances and memories in your lives that you shared here. How precious and sweet for me to read, I got to live your the glimpses of your life and your intimacy with God. Thank you for these testimonies that encourage me greatly to build my own memories with God, and cherish the stories with Him.
We can so easily forget who God is and hat he has done for us. I know that when I reflect on all the ways God has shown up for me in the past, it helps me face the challenges ahead. I pray I will always remember the ways He has provided for me.
I am thankful that I have pictures of my parents and grandparents; that I have a book about our family coming from Europe and settling here in the US. I’m thankful for pictures of my child and granddaughter. I’m extremely thankful for God’s Word that gives me word pictures in my head and lifetime wisdom in my heart. I’m thankful for the people who had fed into me along this life their stories of Jesus and letting me know how we fit into HISstory. Remembering who Jesus is and what He has done for me is something I don’t want to forget. I want to continue telling our story inside HISstory to the generations after me until I can’t. Praying that they will continue also.
While reading this devotion I thought of how my son, niece and nephew, strayed from God after my older son died. They didn’t understand why God would take George at such a young age. My niece before her death had found her way back to Christ. For this I am thankful. My son, Andrew, and nephew, Jake, are still struggling with it, even more so after my niece, Molly’s death. Sometimes we don’t understand why God does what He does but I believe that shouldn’t change our belief or our faith. Yes, God does things we don’t always agree with but we have to “grin and bear it” and move on. We have to remember God, Christ and the Spirit are with us through everything we encounter.
Have a blessed weekend sisters.
Danielle, praying for YOU as I’m sitting here at work during a “quite hour” while students are in their Zoom meeting (earphones on).
So so blessed this morning as I read your posts this morning and your testimonies of God’s grace even in the struggles of some dimentia. I spoke to my Dad after reading your messages and I told him what my prayer is for him and me is that we always remember Jesus, for and His love. Thank you Angela Sutherland and Chryso for sharing. Such beauty from such a loving God. He never lets us go, His faithfulness endures forever. Will be praying for you dear sister Sherry as you remember and lay to rest your Mom today. May you feel His arms holding you this day! He is so good!
I love the analogy used to describe how easily I can forget of God’s goodness and character.
I loved reading the passages from Deuteronomy this morning. It is good to be reminded how God saved us , instructs us and sanctifies us as he did the Israelites. We need to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Early in January I did a reflection on 2020, which was a challenging year for us, even without COVID changes. It helped to think through and write down the work God had done in our lives, even if it was pruning and growing us. When I read the verse Deuteronomy 4:38: to drive out nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land and to give it to you for your inheritance today”. I was reminded of how God has used this year to drive out some things in my life that needed to go. He has also met us in our grief over some loss and carried us through some stress. This has been a great study. I always appreciate the sharing and am praying for those who have asked.
Chryso ❤️❤️
❤️
When I read Psalm 143:4-6, I can’t help to go back to Psalm 143:1-3. It gives a much broader picture, making vs 4-6 so much more precious! David is calling on God to hear him, knowing that God in His faithfulness will answer. The enemy has persecuted David’s soul, crushed his life, his spirit was overwhelmed, his heart was distressed…do any of these word descriptions describe me or you in these troubled days in which we live? How should we respond, how did David respond? He remembered, he meditated, he reflected – thoughtfully considering what God had done in the past. He meditated on all the glorious works of God, all the works of His hands. Doing so brought him hope, promise, trust. Lord, help me to rest in You. Help me to remember your good, good hand upon me. Do not let me forget all of Your works, let me meditate on them through out my day, every day!
Praying for you Danielle as you begin this journey. The Lord will be near and we will keep praying.
Remembering. So needed. Even though I do not know what the future holds, I can remember all that God has done for me in the past. All that he has done for and through his people in the Bible. Praying I would trust and surrender. That I would remember his faithfulness and provision. He’s so good! Also prayer request, yesterday was my second day back at classes, and I just woke up very anxious and wasn’t able to fall back asleep fully. Thankfully today I feel much more rested, but I am tired of feeling anxious about things…praying I would rest in God and that I don’t need to search for approval from others, because I already have it in Christ. He’s the one that likes me the most, and he’s the most important voice in my life.
@Taylor, so glad to hear you downloaded it!! I really love the Porch and Becoming Something podcasts, so encouraging!
@Truth Seeker, I forgot to respond to your message from last week, but thank you for your kind words and that you’ve been praying for me for so long!! It means so much to me. :) I wish we could meet!
Sherry, May God’s love surround your family today. What a legacy she leaves you.
These comments have blessed and encouraged me this morning. During a Christmas women’s gathering at our church a few years ago, we were each encouraged to make a miracle list: a list of all the big and small miracles God has done in our lives so that we can meditate on it in the difficult seasons and the times of gratitude. Admittedly, I didn’t make mine but I am feeling now like I want to. For me, it often feels challenging during the tough times to even be able to recall the goodness of God in my life. Something I can hold in my hands and refer back to would probably be so helpful. I’ve also recently started a gratitude journal which I know will bless me in difficult days. I appreciate today’s scripture passages because they encourage remembrance in so many different forms. It seems as if that’s a theme with these practices: there is no one right way to pursue them. God yearns for relationship with us in all our uniqueness, knowing and celebrating the fact that no two of us will come to Him in the exact same way.
Wow – this is beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.
I find it so appropriate to be reading and studying about remembrance on this day. One year ago today my brother-in-law died of a massive heart attack while driving his truck to work. He left behind two teenage children, A wife, two parents and a large extended family. After his death some friends gifted my family a wind-chime as a token of sympathy and a way to remember him. Now, one year later as we remember the father that he was, the husband that he was, the son and brother that he was it’s hard and we still feel the loss. It’s been so comforting over the past year to turn my thoughts to remembering him each time I hear those chimes outside the kitchen window. Remembering, telling the stories and having tangible reminders of the important moments (good and bad) is so necessary and so human. Blessed weekend to all of you and what an amazing way to end this amazing study!
Thank you. A wonderful, beautiful lesson today.
Ebenezer Stone, Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. This stone is a stone of help. In 1 Samuel we find a stone that reminds us that God has promised to be our help in all things. It serves as an assurance that His help is always present, proven, ready, and reliable.
When my nephew died his boys made stones of remembrance to him and that God would help them through their loss. I wish I could share a picture of what was built.
“I don’t want to forget.” I actually say this often. I don’t want to forget what my God has done for me and my children. He has done so much! Shortly after leaving a 20+ year marriage, I submerged myself in a 12 step study through Celebrate Recovery for codependency. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I was able to speak out. Cry it out! Get everything out I had bottled up inside. No one really knew what was going on. I was too embarrassed to say anything. But not anymore. I was never in denial. I just didn’t know how to get help.But when the opportunity came, I left and ran to my God who I know has never left me. I still remember many nights crying out to God asking Him what to do. I am thankful for my family, my church family, my very good friend Gretchen who were all a big part and me moving forward, healing, (and still healing). As I take A deep breath… I never want to forget where I was and where I am now. My celebrate recovery sponsor, and other loved ones tell me I’m not the same person they met or saw 3 1/2 years ago. I owe it all to my God. I don’t want to forget.
This bring me so much comfort as a just begin my battle with breast cancer. I’m only 40 years old and this had shook me to my core. I constantly have to come back to what is true, God is so good. He had performed miracles in my life, he is always with me, and he has a plan for my life. These are truths that I didn’t do a good job of remembering on a daily/weekly/monthly basis before. I become bogged down with the responsibilities of mothering and working. This is and will be my daily mediation to remember he is able, his had is mighty and he had shown the world who he is. Glory be to God!
What a great discipline to end this study with – remembering the Lord’s love, His goodness, His faithfulness, His presence throughout our lives.
Also thank you all for your love, support, and encouragement in my post yesterday! I truly appreciate each comment <3 @Sarah D, I downloaded the podcast you recommended and I'm going to listen to the one episode you mentioned today!
Amen Renee H, that was beautiful and true.
Thank you fellow Shes for sharing your remembrances. I rejoice at God’s goodness and faithfulness in your lives and it invites me to share my own.
The faithfulness that I recall this morning, especially having a passage from Joshua, is that over the course of 2 years writing certification exams, God brings up a passage from Joshua 1 to be strong and courageous and that He is with me. This passage convicted me to stop procrastinating and to take action and begin those exams. There were several exams on various dates but each time, leading up to the exam, somehow I encounter the same words from the Bible: be strong and courageous. I would find it in a sermon, devotional or on social media. Through these reminders, God subdued my exam anxiety.
This is a discipline I rarely think to do. Sure, I stop and remember when I’m facing a rough patch of other times its been rough, but I don’t do this on a daily basis. I need to incorporate this practice into my daily exercise of faith.
Sherry, sending prayers of comfort & peace for you & your family this day. It is such a blessing to know that she is “dancing & singing with her Jesus” even now. I used those same words when each of my parents died, & felt that God had allowed me to walk them nearly to Heaven’s gates-singing, praying, reading scripture as they passed. And remembering the good times, & their sacrificial, unwavering love for me. Be blessed, even as you grieve.
12 stones to remember. 12 tribes to remember. 12 disciples to remember. And I forget even though I have far more than 12 memories of ways God moved on my behalf. Forgive me, Lord. And thank You, Lord.
What another gift to have, remembrance. So many times when I sit back to remember, I remember like the world. I remember pain or hurt, fears and trouble. And then I don’t move past that, I get stuck. I guess I fear if I have optimism I will be let down.
Oh world, let go of me. I want to be in remembrance of Gods mighty hand and great works. He allowed pain and There was healing! There was hurt but growth and forgiveness afterward! The fears came and then the reassurance of his protection and the joy came in the morning! Oh how small my troubles have been for the Lord.
I feel like the psalmist, I stretch out my arms, I am a parched land. God walks over to me and says, “ this desert has more beauty than thorns, come and see, walk with me child and I’ll show you.”
Tears again….but happy.
Our family has often talked of the Ebenezer stone and how significant it was to the people of Israel. A few years ago our farm struggled through a crippling drought and a fire came within a few hundred feet of getting my parents’ home. Instead of focusing on the losses or what could have been, we erected our own Ebenezer stone which has become a talking point for visitors. One more reminder of God’s faithfulness to our family!
Lord i thank you for another day and let me always remember you!
I meant to add to my post, that my Dad had early onset dementia as he was nearing the end of his battle with cancer. He had suffered 2 strokes a few years earlier, so his comprehension was compromised too. It was hard, especially on days when he woke up and didn’t remember having cancer or why he felt so sick…those were hard days. His last week on this earth, there were moments when he would look at us and know who we were but he couldn’t remember our names. You could see in his eyes when the lights were on or when they were dimmed. I’ll never forget that. But God….let me tell you!!! Dad had slipped into a coma as his body was slowly shutting down. You could see the pain and discomfort on his face and it was difficult to watch. But one day, my Mom was tidying up his hospital room, and she turned around and was startled to find Dad looking at her! The most amazing part was, he looked younger, and clear eyed! He spoke to her and asked if she was going to be okay, and his voice, his speech, it was Dad before his strokes! It was as if God completely healed the strokes and dementia in those moments! My siblings and I were all there at that time too, and we each had the God given opportunity to talk to him and hear him say he loved us and was proud of us. Then he looked behind us all and smiled and said he was ready to go home with Jesus. He went back to sleep, and lay peacefully until Jesus took him home a few days later. I’m crying with awe and joy remembering such a beautiful gift from God….
The discipline of Remembrance is easy for me during the good times but not so much during the hard times. But I know it is the anchor that I need to lean on during those hard times to know that there is hope and that I will come out on the other side. And that God is always faithful and near.
Choosing to remember God’s faithfulness today!
Oh to remember the faithfulness of God!
I find that the discipline of remembrance is one I practice with more ease than others. The Lord has shown His faithfulness to me in so many areas of my life over the years…so when I’m tempted to forget or be lazy or just don’t “feel” His presence, I remind myself of His faithfulness. And not just to me, but through all of history!! He is the same God today! How I feel in the moment has nothing to do with that, and for that I am so thankful!! What a God we serve!
Wendy….God does help them remember….my mom had dementia…at times she may have not known who I was but always spoke of her Lord…she may have not remembered her husband had passed 30 years prior but she knew she’d see Jesus….God is so good…so loving…never leaves nor forsakes..
What an appropriate devotion for me today as we lay my momma to rest. The last few years have been difficult as her memory failed, along with her body. Often it appeared that she had forgotten the faith she so depended on for 88 years. We found her Bible, tattered from years of use filled with dates and names next to verses she had prayed for family and friends. I rest assured knowing that even though she seemed to forget Jesus, he did not forget her. I know today she is dancing and singing in heaven with her Jesus.
I vividly remember a time early in my marriage when my husband and I clung to what
we believed was God’s promise over our lives, and day after week after year, our every hope was
crushed. One day, after an opportunity I really thought was from the Lord had slammed shut—again—I flung myself sobbing on the bed, whispering words I would later turn into a simple song, words
which I couldn’t feel but knew in my heart were true: “I believe You are good. I’ll declare You are
faithful.”
I have hanging on my living room wall now what I think of as my “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” gallery:
canvas prints of the places we’ve lived since our marriage. The place I sobbed on my bed that day is
there, pictured right before the next pictures. We didn’t see God’s purpose in the next place we lived,
either. Still, God steadily, sovereignly, in seemingly-insignificant decisions and encounters, was
leading us to the next step, to the next place, into our purpose and calling: into His promise. We are
here now, living in the fulfillment of a promise that only a few years ago looked utterly impossible. I
can testify that through every bleak wilderness season, He led and kept me and continued to
conform me a little more into the image of His Son so my life can bring Him glory. I look, and I
remember, as the song says: even when I can’t see it, You’re working.
That’s my prayer for my mom who has dementia…Lord, please let her remember you and all your word.
How blessed I am from reading the wonderful posts here about God’s faithfulness. Your testimonies encourage me to remember also. Gathering daily here to read His Word and your posts reminds me of God’s constant interaction with His people, His loving care. Thank you all for sharing. Lord, thank You for being You.
❤️
CHRYSO – thank you for sharing, your story is so heartwarming. Such a great reminder that the Lord never leaves us and also that what we are taught about the Lord and are surrounded by remains with us, and recalled even when some other memories are out of reach. Many years ago the young daughter of my sister’s friend was terminally ill, and in her last days was singing old hymns that as far as they knew, she had never heard before. He is truly always with us, Lord, help us to always remember.
i am thankful for this devotional. I am thankful for the things already shared by others this morning. So good. I am thankful for our Creator God, a solid foundation of remembrance Himself. Praise God.
“Today, recognize and keep in mind that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other” Deut. 4:39
and from “Come Thou Fount”
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
I have many memories. Of my younger days wrapped in joy with my grandmother. I have memories of becoming a mama at an early age to a beautiful baby girl.❤ I have memories of losing my dad. I have memories of becoming a grandma for the first time, my heart sings at that!
I have a remembering of losing my daughter, and all those feelings that go with grief and the heartbreak of loss..
I Remember..
But God..
Oh, But God,
When I remember God, dear wonderful, amazing, loving, persistently chasing me, God.. When I remember God, and all He has done in my life, I see His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His faithfulness, His gracious and wonderfully enveloping love, I truly REMEMBER what He has done for and in my life.
I REMEMBER, because I did not journey on my own, not once. Even in the days I did not walk with Him, I was never alone, I just didn’t know it..
I REMEMBER.
I REMEMBER.
I REMEMBER with absolute gratitude and Thanksgiving to God for getting me thus far, for trusting me with all He has, even when I make a mess and a pigs ear of it..
I REMEMBER, not because there are markers, or stones, but because the eyes of my heart, were opened and through them, I have known and seen this Amazing wonderful Father God, who sent His only son, to stretch out his arms on a wooden cross, held up by nails for me. Me!
I have known His grace. I have seen His provision.
As I am known and loved by Him, I pray I can know and love as I REMEMBER ALL He has done and continues to do in my life.
Amen.
Praying Gods abundant love and blessing over you all, this wet day my sisters.❤
My grandmother has dementia and is in a nursing home. She hardly talks and when she does it’s single words that are unconnected, but she sings hymns and recites them word for word for hours on end whenever they’ve had the chaplin in. See, my grandmother grew up in a faith saturated home and every memory I have of her (and my mum actually) growing up was singing hymns and that has stuck with her. She has no clue who anyone around her is, she can barely talk and more recently will hardly eat but what she remembers is hymns, not just to sing but to recite, poetry form, word for word and she is THE happiest and friendliest old dear you will ever meet in that nursing home.
So even though we might have blips and dark moments, don’t forget that deep within us we still have the truth there and it comes out, not because we force it and not because of anything we are capable of doing but because it has to pour out of us … Truth has to be declaired and it finds ways, not in our strength, but in the Almighty’s. And believe me, even in the dark you are still blessing others because, even in the dark, you are holy and set apart and chosen and marked by God and that will pour from you by you just being you in those moments.
If thats the blessing you have then, think of the blessing you are when the light is on and flickering!
We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made! The mind of a person with dementia is evidence of that!
Thank you for sharing. This is beautiful!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I liked this passage even though my mind wandered a bit while reading it, because it reminded me of a rock collection you’d have as a child. Or as an adult because I still collect sea glass and seashells from my travels. Small treasures to remind me of where I’ve been. The idea/Memory of the rock collection has been popping up in my life this past week so it’s weird that it’s symbolism has been used again! When I was traveling home a lot of things would go wrong, things crucial to me actually getting to go home, and one by one they were fixed. I’d see another problem and anxiety would arise but then I’d stop and be like “well God took care of the other things!” And my anxiety would lessen. One by one each time he proved he didn’t just fix the last problem to let me be held back by another. He was adding to my rock pile for sure.