Forgotten Memories

[bluidkiti]

Forgotten Memories
By Bill Crowder

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. —Psalm 103:2

Recently, a friend from my youth emailed me a picture of our junior high track team. The grainy black-and-white snapshot showed a vaguely familiar group of teens with our two coaches. I was instantly swept back in time to happy memories of running the mile and the half-mile in track meets. Yet even as I enjoyed remembering those days, I found myself thinking about how easily I had forgotten them and moved on to other things.

As we make our way on the journey of life, it is easy to forget places, people, and events that have been important to us along the way. Time passes, yesterday fades, and we become obsessed with the concerns of the moment. When this happens, we can also forget just how good God has been to us. Perhaps that is why David remembered as he wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Ps. 103:1-2).

Never is this remembrance more needed than when the heartaches of life crowd in on us. When we are feeling overwhelmed and forgotten, it’s important to recall all that He has done for us. In remembering, we find the encouragement to trust Him in the present and for the future.
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. —Oatman

Remembering God’s faithfulness in the past strengthens us for the future.

[MajestyJo]

Didn't get anything from this earlier, all I saw was religion. Just got off the phone with a friend, and we talked for four hours. A lot of what we talked about was about letting go, being open to receive, instead of blocking things because they were against your old tapes, your religion, or they were something you were willing to accept about yourself and/or others.

So much of our dis-ease is because of what we learned growing up, living in dysfunctional families or environments, and we become products of our environment. We can't know what we haven't been taught and just because we were taught, doesn't mean it is right for you.

Go to the Source, don't always listen to hear say and or what you are told is right. Find your own truth. Build a relationship with the God of your understanding. Much of what I was taught was the reason for my dis-ease. I lived life fearing that I was going to be struck down at any moment, and I made the decision that I might as well be killed as a sheep instead of a lamb. I remember the fear at 6 years old, prior to that, most of my mind is blank. Mixed messages, especially those that were talked and not walked, left me very confused, insecure, and fearful.

God never goes away, I do. I didn't look for that Good Orderly Direction and got lost.