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).
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.