Remembering What We Forget
Sometimes, we just forget. We forget a birthday, we forget an appointment, we forget to say a word of encouragement meant for another because between here and there so much has happened. Keeping track of it all can be difficult. This can happen in any season of life as what we remember may be here today and gone tomorrow as memory banks shift. As they shift, what was once top priority gets placed down the line to meet the needs of the here and now. After all, supper must be made, groceries forgotten now need purchasing, and what we thought was written on our list is nowhere to be seen. We just forget.
Even focusing on the current season as it rolls right on into the next can become confusing and soon, we forget what season we are in the midst of celebrating. That may sound farfetched, but is it? Think about it. The Fall décor mingles with Christmas and if you are astute, you will see upon the store shelving, the New Year decorations awaiting purchase right next to the sale of those items still left over from summer. No longer is life compartmentalized. It’s all one big ball of trying to keep track of where we are as the world round us presses in. Apparently, it’s the job of those in marketing to make a profit by reminding us what they believe our top priority need be.
Case in point: One afternoon, while in a Christmas shopping mood, I took note of the red and green round and about every turn. It was festive. It was cozy. It beckoned all to enter in and I did. Purchasing a few items was fun but as I snooped, I noticed a small corner within the shop displaying purple tones all Spring like. As the colors popped, it took me a while to recognize the Advent candles before me. Apart from the other Christmas décor, they stood alone beckoning a few to remember what this season is all about.
As the red and greens had taken over, the separate table announcing this season of Advent, stood alone. As I pondered these things in my heart, I recalled that long before the events of the manger, before the angels announced the good news, before the shepherds were keeping watch with their flocks by night—the angel, Gabriel, visited Mary announcing all quiet like that which would soon come to pass.
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28).
Mary’s response? “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
In the midst of the throngs pushing us forward into the next season and the next, may we intentionally take pause lest we forget that which must be remembered. Remembering the importance of what came to pass and why during this holy season—helps as we await. May we, like Mary, not only listen to His voice, but respond in ways everlasting. May we, like Mary say, “…let it be done unto me according to Thy Word.”
And may we never forget to remember. Amen.
