Called To Remember

These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. Psalm 42:4


It is a standing joke in my family that I have a terrible memory. “Don’t ask Donna, she won’t remember.” I’m so thankful for pictures and other remembrances that call to mind special times in my life. The tap dance picture when I was five, the basketball team when I was in grade school, the Girl Scout camping picture, the parties we used to have on Friday night in my basement when I was a teenager. Then there are the wedding pictures, the baby pictures of my children growing up, the college graduation pictures. They all bring back some really great memories.

At the Bed and Breakfast, I have a guest book in each room. I try to have the people put where they are from. Looking over their comments brings back memories of their stay. The ones who came half way across the world to their friend’s wedding. The two couples who have known each other for ages and vacation together every year. What wonderful camaraderie they shared. The retired architect and his wife. He worked for a firm that designed some of our most wonderful outdoor spaces like the Camden Waterfront. He was writing a book about architecture with drawings he’d hand drawn. He showed us the draft copy. What a wonderful use of his retirement years. The two students who have been coming to town for the last year, once a month, to take a class towards their Psy.D. It’s great to hear about their dogs and their husbands and their jobs. I’m thankful for that little book that helps me recall so many people from so many different walks of life.

I am also so thankful that God gave us another family remembrance, the Bible. But one thing that is different from God’s story is he tells us about both the downs and the ups of this story. Looking over your photo albums and mementos, you’ll find there are not too many pictures of the lost job, the failed test, the hospital room or the cemetery. But God, in his goodness, has told us about the valleys as well as the mountains. And there are many lessons learned from both, sometimes more so in the valleys. In Psalm 42 David is crying out to God as he “remembers.” He is going through the valley but God helps him recall the joy he had in his life. From that remembrance he can say at the end of the Psalm, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Today as you look over your life, as you “remember,” I pray that you will rejoice in the blessing that have been given to you. God is so good. Always find something to thank him for every day; even if it’s only the fact that you woke up this morning and are alive. But I also pray that you will not let those lessons learned in the valley go without taking them to heart and learning from them. This life is a constant classroom. God is teaching us every day of our lives. In the minute details of life there are lessons to learn. Make sure you aren’t sleeping in class!

New Every Morning

Is it fair to say I was lured away?
By endless distractions and lovelier attractions then
Or fairer still, my own free will
Is the better one to blame for this familiar mess
I 've made again

So I would understand if You were out of patience
And I would understand if I was out of chances

Your mercies are new every morning
So let me wake with the dawn
When the music is through or so it seems to be
Let me sing a new song, old things gone

Every day it's true,
You make all Your mercies new

The distance left between East and West
Is how far You would go to forget the debt I'd owe
And thrown into the sea, the wicked ways in me

Will never have a chance to wash back on the sand
So I would understand if You would make me pay
I would understand lying in the bed I made again

Your mercies are new every morning
So let me wake with the dawn
When the music is through or so it seems to be
Let me sing a new song, old things gone
Every day it's true,
You make all Your mercies new

Up comes the sun on every one of us
Gone, gone, gone the guilt and shame that knew Your name

Your mercies are new every morning
So let me wake with the dawn
When the music is through or so it seems to be
Let me sing a new song, old things gone
Every day it's true,
You make all Your mercies new

Nichole Nordeman Lyrics > Mercies New Song Lyrics

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.Lamentations 3:22-26

The above verse, especially verses 22-23, were my husbands favorite verses. The Lord took him through many physical valleys during his 12 year illness. But he never lost sight of the prize, the goal. Every day he knew God’s joy. He believed God was faithful and was working out his plan for his life. He is doing that in your lives now. As the new year begins, I would like to encourage you all with these verses too. His compassions never fail, they are new every morning. Look for his blessings in this. You are his children and he promises in Romans 8:28 that “all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” He brings you through valleys so that you in turn can help others through those same valleys in the future. I know as I dealt with Dave’s illness and death that the Lord revealed some amazing things that were a comfort to me and strengthened my faith. Those revelations have helped me to comfort others in similar situations. God uses our faith to shine through and be a witness to God’s glory.

It is my prayer that you don’t lose heart and that the Lord will keep you strong and give you comfort in this. He has a purpose in everything that happens in our lives. Many times we don’t understand what he’s doing but that’s where faith comes in. As people watch us deal with trials like this, they are many times amazed that we can continue to believe God in what is happening. You can be a powerful witness. If even one person comes to faith from seeing us testify to God through troubles, it is worth it.

1/1/08

Welcome to the New Every Morning Blog
A place where you can share what the Lord has been teaching you or any insights you are getting from the New Every Morning posts.

Our God is an awesome God. Even when He brings rain into our lives, the sun always follows the rain. He is gracious to walk with us through our trials…we are never alone. And He teaches us so richly as we daily bear our burdens.

How has God taught you through your trials? For me, He taught me patience and to wait on His will for my life. His will is always better than our wills. We think we know what will make us happy and sometimes God says no. I learned to trust him and use the “waiting” time to be an ambassador for him. And He did bless that time. He did use me to minister to people who I would not have been able to if I was ministering to a husband and a family. And now, He has blessed me with a new husband, Dick, and now we are ministering side by side as we daily try to show the world the Savior we serve.

I believe we go through different seasons in our lives and God has a purpose for each of those seasons. Use them wisely, my friends. Learn from them and then go and share with others what you have learned. Tell how God was gracious and merciful to you even in the valley.

All For Him,
Donna