What Do You Remember?

What Do You Remember?

What do you remember? When you look back on life, growing up, finishing school, getting married, having a family – what do you remember? What stands out to you? Was life full of highs or lows or some of each?

When I look back I can remember a number of things. Among them, I remember spending two hours, six evenings a week watering our orchard when we lived in Florida. I could tell you I remember not liking how dirty the hose would get as I drug it through the yard or how I was frequently hosing my feet in an attempt to make the fire ants stop biting me. But it reality, what I really remember right off about spending that time watering is that I memorized Scripture while doing it. That time, that memory, is precious to me because of what I choose to remember! And I love it!

This memory and others of mine didn’t happen overnight. They are specific memories that I have chosen to remember. Not everything has been peaches and cream in my life, and I am sure it hasn’t been in yours either. But we can make the deliberate decision to find the good, to search for the special, the wonderful and the amazing!

What About Your Memories?

Pause a moment and think about your memories. What stands out to you? Do you have some special, wonderful memories that you always associate with a certain milestone? Perhaps you remember the energy your first little one had! The wild-eyed expression of an adorable little just learning to walk! In that beautiful memory, you might be able to recall the messes or the late nights, but there is no pang there – just the reality of life with a new little one!

Or perhaps your memories aren’t so wonderful. You remember an area where you didn’t overcome your weakness, yet again. Or perhaps it was an uncomfortable situation and no matter which way you look at it, there was no optimal outcome. I have some of those memories too. But there is a way to move past them and replace them with joyful associations!

Changing Your Focus

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I believe that God can make old things new! Old memories and difficulties, can be approached from a new perspective; thought of in a new light! God can take our memories, our attitudes, our responses and completely reshape them to reflect Him and His Word! He can take our sadness and replace it with laughter! Replace our pain with joy! He makes the old things new again! He can take our memories and refresh them and remind us of wonderful things that we have forgotten!

A Very Real Example

As a child and teenager, I had physical struggles. I dealt with a sway back and knock knees. In retrospect, I think, among other things, I must have had a very weak core. But at the time I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Just that I wasn’t like everyone else and it was a weakness on my part. Just thinking and talking about my physical condition would make me cry. Why couldn’t I be like my siblings and not have this struggle? What was different about me that made me like this?

For years this was a huge weight to me. The best way that I could figure out how to deal with it was to not think about it. Ignore it. Pretend I wasn’t different and that I didn’t have physical struggles. But like all things that you try to ignore and forget about, it had a way of popping up and reminding me at the most trying times.

One day, while reading through my Bible, I read about the crippled man who came to Jesus. Jesus’ disciples asked Him why this man was crippled – was it the man’s fault or his parents’ fault? What was the cause? (Isn’t that just like us – to need an explanation? A way to classify the seeming error or mistake. But we have to realize that there often isn’t an obvious reason – and that’s okay too! God’s got this!)

Do you know what Christ’s response to His disciples was? His response was what changed my outlook – it worked in my heart and gave my whole life a new paradigm. His response was phenomenal.

Christ told his disciples that it wasn’t the man’s fault or his parent’s fault that he was crippled. He was simply given his own unique, one-of-a-kind opportunity to bring glory to God. The sole purpose of his being crippled was to bring glory to God! What an awe-inspiring opportunity!

With this knowledge, all my questions were answered! I had been given my own unique opportunity to bring glory to God! My whole attitude about my physical struggles began to change. Not all at once, change takes time. But little by little I was able to remember not to let my physical struggles get me down – they were my opportunity to bring glory to God!

A Challenge (or Two!) for You

So here’s a fun challenge! Fun, in that I truly believe it will pique your interest and capture your attention! The point of this challenge is to help you overcome your worries and regrets over yesterday. You’ve got the rest of your life ahead of you and you can’t live as fully with joy in the present if you have regrets in the past.

The Challenge: Give your regrets to God and ask Him to renew your mind and make those memories beautiful!

Be specific in your prayers! Just as specific as your painful memories or regrets are. Name those regrets or difficult memories and give them to God. Ask Him to give you beauty for your ashes!

“To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” – Isaiah 61:3

Let me just add, as God renews your memories and takes away the pangs of regret, that doesn’t mean that you’ll only remember flowers and sunshine. You’ll still remember the realities of your memories, but the initial memory will no longer cause the pain it did. You’ll be able to see the beauty, and yes, the struggles too. But instead of causing you pain, you will begin to see how they too are a part of your story! Memories are not designed to cause you heartache, but to teach, encourage, instruct and inspire. Nobody’s story is pain free – otherwise we never would learn anything!

No Worries!

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.” – Matthew 6:34a

One last thing that I want to encourage you to do is to live today fully. Don’t fret and worry too much about if you will have reason tomorrow or next year to regret your choices today. (For example: I highly doubt two years from now that you will remember that you chose to take the children on a field trip rather than catch up the laundry on the 26th of June 2017 at 2pm EST. If anything, the memory of investing in your little darlings will far outweigh the memory of having a large laundry day!)

As long as you seek to live a life that pleases God, don’t worry too much about tomorrow – as the Scripture says tomorrow will care for itself. Follow God’s lead, savor your day and enjoy your life! No more worries and no more regrets!

If God is for us, who can be against us?!

Until Next Time!

Hope.