The Power of a Memory

Mom,  I think my brain got knocked out of my head.- Olivia
Mom, only 11 more years till I can drive.  See you on the road!- Nathan
Mom,   where is the fall vegetable?  I thought we were going to the fall vegetable - Olivia (fall festival)
Mom, I think I got my period.  My finger is bleeding.- Clare
Mom, Clare says I'm not old enough for freckles. Is that true!?! - Olivia


Each day's thoughts, words, and actions  are tomorrow's memories, and the thoughts that form in my children's minds, and flow out of their mouths, never cease to amaze me. Sometimes I do a great job at writing those crazy things they say down, and other times I just plain forget.  Taking the time to go back and read what they've said or done,  really puts family life in perspective and I love the laughter it brings me.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in life's details, burdens, to-do lists, schedules, and running from here to there, that when we hit an emotional, or spiritual slump, we can totally lose sight of why we are doing what we're doing.  Remembering why we made the commitment, and how we felt when we made the commitment can help us put our life in perspective and change our heavy hearts into a heart filled with  gratitude for what we've been given.  When we take the time to remember how much we loved our spouse on our wedding day, and what it felt like to say those vows to one another, we remember that we were ready for the challenges that come up in a marriage.  We remember that we are a team working toward a greater good and a larger purpose, and that we are for the team, not just for our own individual wants and needs.  We are for working together, supporting each other, and doing the hard stuff of marriage.  Remembering what it felt like to fall in love and why you fell in love isn't just for  anniversaries, it is for any moment we need it.  Taking the time to go through wedding albums, cards, letters, and special items you gave each other is a gift. Memories aren't just for the elderly.  We have the ability at any time, to go back into the treasures of our hearts and minds, and remember how God worked so hard to bring us happiness. God uses the gift of long-term memory to give us strength, comfort, and direction when we feel we've lost our sense of direction and purpose.  


As a mom, there are moments,  days, and even weeks when raising children can be overwhelming, tiring, challenging, and just plain hard.  But I have found, that sometimes it helps to go back through their photo albums from when they were tiny babies and just stop and feel that kind of brand new love again.  It also helps me to remember how far I've come with my children, and how fast time really is going while raising them.  Remembering puts everything in proper perspective, and what I find in my memory is sometimes just what I need to make it through another day, another hour, another week.
A memory has the power to put a smile on our face.  It can cause us to laugh at ourselves, and remind us not to take this journey so seriously.  A memory can open the floodgates of love again, and break open our weary, aching hearts, and fill it with a newfound strength and purpose.

As the wife of a priest, I have a challenging, and sometimes very lonely, role.  Some days I wouldn't trade it for the world, and other days, I feel humbled and not the least bit qualified for this role,  and still there are other days when being the wife of a priest is the last thing I want to be.  But when I stop and remember how Charles and I got here...  what we've sacrificed to have this life that we both believe in and are dedicated to,  the load becomes a little lighter, more do-able, and extremely rewarding. Going back and reading the scripture that was proclaimed at his ordination and his reception into the Episcopal priesthood is inspiring.  Reading cards and letters that we've kept over the years from people who thanked us for something said or done renews our commitment again, and enables me to say "yes" to where I am at in this moment and time.  Taking the time to remember how God moved heaven and earth so that we could be where we are now is an awesome thing to hold onto.

There are many places in scripture where we are called to remember how good and how loving God is. Going back through our memories and remembering the miracles of God draws forth the energy for more miracles.  When we remember what God has brought us through and how much God loved us in discouraging times, we build up trust, faith, and belief that the miracles we need today will visit us again and again, and change our lives for the better, and at just the right time.  Remembering the past invokes the blessing of God upon our lives in the present.  When we remember all that God has done for us, we are saying to God that my mustard seed faith is enough to move the mountain that needs to move.  Remembering is our vow to God, a vow that proclaims to the world that I have seen that all things were possible with God in the past, and they are possible now.  Remembering the actions of God in your life that brought you the job you needed, the rest you needed, the money you needed, the love you needed, the people you needed, or the perfect situation you needed in the perfect time is God taking us by the hand and reminding us that there is no lack.  There is no shortage of supply.  There is no limit to the miracles God can perform in your life. God is available, active, and alive!

When I start to get angry, or when I start to complain, and when I start to feel sorry for myself, I have forgotten how loved I am by my Creator.  I haven't remembered that every hair on my head has been counted, every detail of my life matters, and I haven't remembered that God empowers us through His actions in the past, and they are the blueprints of my future.  I haven't remembered that God has shown nothing but love for me.  When I start to feel depressed, all I have to do is replace my thoughts of sadness with memories of love, laughter, strength, joy, abundance, and peace.  Remembering leads to gratitude, and gratitude multiplies miracles.

When people go to church, they are there because we want to remember how much God has loved us.  Many parts of the bible was written based on memories. Altars were built because people wanted to remember how God changed their lives. Every liturgical season that we celebrate as church is based on remembering the activities of God.  Christmas is a celebration of remembering the birth of the Christ child.  Lent is a season for remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus. We come together because we remember and we vow never to forget. Creating a prayer space in your home, and praying there is an act of remembering that God is always present, always hears our prayers, and is always speaking to us with clarity about how to love and live.  We pray to "re-member" ourselves in God's family...to bend our knee and take our rightful place before the altar of life.  When we pray for someone we are praying that they remember that they are made of love, that they are a part of God, and that they are expressing the love of God in their situation.  At our church,  when we are preparing to go to communion,  one of the lines that is used in the Eucharistic Prayer is Jesus saying,  "Do this in remembrance of me."  I think what Jesus was trying to get across is,  "Please drink from this cup of eternal memory. Remember what I taught you.  Remember why I came to you.  Remember that you are love.  Remember your divine purpose.  Remember to forgive.  Remember to be compassionate.  Remember to feed the hungry.  Remember to give to the poor.  Remember to do what I did.  Remember to pray for your enemies."  A memory can be an invitation to action.  People give to the poor because they have memories of being poor themselves.  It is the feeling connected to the memory that holds the invitation to give of ourselves.  A memory says, I was once in their place and I know how that feels, how can I not help them?  I can't tell you how many times an older woman has come up to me and said,  I remember those days when my children were small.  Hang in there!  Let me know if I can help.  A memory is sometimes the seed that God has planted in the soil of our hearts, and when the time is right, that seed will sprout and produce fruit. Memories are the seeds of compassion and empathy. 

Remembering is a holy power, a power sanctified by God that is there to help strengthen, empower, and bless where we are now.  Remembering works miracles on our minds by replacing thoughts of negativity with thoughts of grace, love, and mercy.  Every memory has woven into it the magnificent promises of God.  Memories are a storehouse of promises kept by a loving and involved God.  Memories are the written gospels in the torn, tattered, faded pages of our hearts and minds, the holy stories of our faith journey. And it is worth thumbing through those pages to feel the mountains we've moved, the seas that have been parted, the stormy waters that have been calmed, the scales that have fallen from our eyes, and the times we have moved out of darkened tombs into a world of light. 

We recently just spent a day "remembering" how our world changed on Sept. 11, 2001.  All of us remember where we were, what we were doing, and the way we felt as we watched the twin towers fall to the ground.  10 years later, we have the choice to take that memory and do something that is positive and life-giving.  We can choose to live in fear because of that memory, or we can choose to take that memory and move forward in the name of peace. This is a memory that must be handled with care. Some responses to a memory are really fear disguised as love.  Do we add more hate to an already hate-filled event? Or do we respond with thoughts and actions that expand love?  The power of a memory can change the world for the better and call us to follow the higher path.  

A simple act of remembering can change an entire day from one of dread to a day that is filled with loving service and true joy.  What seems like a really big deal now, in the years to come, will be a simple memory, put into its proper perspective.  One of the last conversations I had with my grandma was about remembering.  She promised me that after she passed from this life, she would always remember me. I won't forget you, Susie.  That one sentence has helped me when I feel lonely for her.  It has soothed the ache and the emptiness that could only be filled by her.  It is the memory of her promising to remember me that brings me much peace, and reminds me that she really hasn't left me, nor has God.  God promises that even if a mother should forget us,  He will never forget us. God remembers every one of us... even when we forget to remember God.
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