Forgetting and remembering…
This week I had the rare privilege (for me) of catching up with a friend from my youth in Johannesburg, some fifty years ago. She was a gifted florist, so of course I asked her to create the floral arrangements for our wedding – they were absolutely gorgeous! – and also the bouquet of my dreams, a ball of lush red roses that hung from my wrist, filling the air around us with their romantic aroma. To this day I love that gentle scent for the way it takes me back to my wedding day.
The ability to remember is a remarkable thing, able to bring us both joy and pain because somehow, the experiences of our five senses create an inner ‘gallery’ of images that can and will define how we experience the world. One of the miracles of salvation is that God the Holy Spirit, if invited, can replace the damaging images with his vision for us. I’m ashamed to admit that it took me too long to understand that the renewing of my mind was not just up to God but involved my will too. It seems such a simple thing now, but as a young bride, although my waking hours were happily filled with the joys of young marriage, an old boyfriend would often walk into my dreams my sleeping hours. It was not even a romantic dream, but I became increasingly disturbed by this, feeling it a subtle betrayal. One night, as l lay talking to the Lord before sleep, I simply invited the Lord to replace this image in my ‘gallery’ that I did not want. That dream never reappeared!
You may say this was just a coincidence. I don’t think so. I have come to understand that the renewing of my ‘gallery’ is a daily choice as I grow in my desire to acknowledge the Lord in ALL of my ways. I want to work WITH the Holy Spirit as he changes me from ‘glory to glory’ into the likeness of our Lord Jesus, even when it sometimes feels like painful surgery! I am reminded of the words of Paul: “… let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think “ and “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
I love the way Isaiah paints a picture of how God makes sure we remember that HE doesn’t forget us: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast…? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” God’s memory of us is as long as his memory of our sin is short! “…I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Sadly, in the cut and thrust of life, it’s all too easy for us to forget the One who never forgets his children. So, today, I pray you see his hand stretched out to you, palm open so that you can read your name there, etched in blood by the nail that pierced his hand.
