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!