While reading an ancient novel by a favored science fiction author (Arthur C Clark), the character was trying to remember something and it was out on the edges of memory.
Ever “been there done that?”
As he prepared himself to remember, he quieted his surrounding, mentally pushed the “search” button in his mind, and allowed his subconscious to send bots through his data banks looking for the forgotten knowledge.
Yeah. The older I get, the harder it is to recall your name, especially if I connected to you via a social account or remember something from the past. It happened last night at church. Someone was there, and it took about 3 minutes to recall their name. Fortunately, I didn’t need the name to have a conversation, but it does happen more than I like!
I forget, but I think they call it the “getting old(-er)” symptom.
Why does this matter?
One of the things most of us want to know is that we are remembered.
Maybe that’s why I keep so many mementos of my past. They trigger a memory and that keeps the connection alive.
As a classmate, long in the future when life has wrung us out and left us hanging by threads, we hope to be remembered by those we shared a portion of life with.
Or, as a friend who was there in the middle of a crisis and we proved our stalwart faithfulness.
Of course, we want to be forgotten for our embarrassing moments, or for our part in an adventure that turned horribly wrong.
But there’s something we desperately need.
To not be forgotten when we need help the most.
Circling my sphere are those who are easily forgotten, and those whose presence lingers long after their gone.
Someone reached out to me a few days ago about a relative that was coming to our church. Yes. After struggling to remember the circumstance. They did show up for a few weeks but then we never heard from them again.
Did I forget them enough to never call? Perhaps. Maybe their contact information was poorly stored. It was during C-19, so maybe other circumstances piled up, and they were squeezed out of the memory banks.
I pray they do not feel we failed and forgot them.
Remember Me, Oh Lord
Do Lord, oh Do Lord, oh, Do remember me… Go ahead sing it for a moment. It’s appropriate.
God knows all of us. Right? But we all fear that he will not remember us.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day,
‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?’
And then I will declare to them,
‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
I never knew you… That’s probably much worse, but not as bad as having been involved and faded to the edges of forgetfulness.
Throughout scripture we find many who cried out to God, “Remember me, Oh Lord”, “Do not forget me…” or other similar phrases.
Hanging on a cross next to Jesus, the criminal said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) Jesus replies, “I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise .”
Remember me, Lord. We hope to pray these words on our death bed. Oh, I hope you don’t wait so long to try and undo your years into a few words you “hope” to speak with a last breath.
Maybe you need a trigger for a better memory today. Remember when you once believed? Remember when you once trusted in Jesus? Remember when someone witnessed to you? Remember when you called with a problem, and the other person said, “I was just thinking about you!”
All around you are triggers…just waiting for you to activate.
Thank you for reading.
Please share with others.
It helps me get my book written!
(Below, you may find other topics similar to this one. Please read on!)