Remembering

Where do we find refreshment?

The wilderness stretches before us, a dry, sweeping expanse. The dust and dirt of life cling to our skin, our clothes, our soul. Weariness settles in, the kind a nap can’t fix. The path ahead is uncertain and the one behind can no longer be found.

When life sounds a bit like the words above, where do we find refreshment? When we don’t know where to go, how to start over, when to turn the page, when to close the chapter, how to begin again, or how to simply keep moving forward, God offers us the gift of remembrance.

Re-member. Connect the never-ending threads of faithfulness into a tapestry of hope, woven and strung together by the mercy and grace of God. This is manna in life’s wilderness, nourishment to keep going.

There is power in remembering.

God’s refreshment is found in remembering. Call to mind even just two or three instances of His unfailing love, His victories over your defeats, His reinvention of your destruction, His care in your dark midnight.

I remember.

I remember how God was with me in my loneliness. When I felt I had no one in the world, He was there.

He was there when suicidal thoughts ran on a constant doom loop through my head. He never let me get a hold of pills, or the bottle, or a weapon. Because He wasn’t done with my story. And He’s still not done.

He was there when my identity was misplaced, wrongly housed in titles and accolades and degrees and applause. When I wanted the world more than I wanted Him, He called me daughter and loved me before I ever truly loved Him.

He was there when I was facing heartbreak. He washed my wounds with His Word and let me rest in the shadow of His wing. He gave me fresh purpose in isolation and restored everything I never knew I had lost.

He was there when I felt bullied. I couldn’t hear it then but to my soul He whispered, “I am breaking your heart for what breaks mine. I will comfort you to comfort others. Love for the overlooked and tossed aside will I give you.” He birthed purpose from pain.

When anger and bitterness filled my heart, He waited patiently for me to surrender the battle. Then He stepped in and gave me the victory. A victory of peace and self-control. I only had to be still.

When I was deep in self-hate and despised my very person, God rewrote my story. He changed my identity. He invited me to die to myself to live His life instead. He silenced every voice that told me my life was over, that I was a loser, that I’d never love myself. He loved me when I couldn’t.

Build altars of remembrance.

I am building altars of remembrance in my heart and in my mind like champions in the Old Testament used to do. These markers display the awesome power of God and demonstrate the love and care He has for us. God cares enough to intervene in the small and large details of our lives. Remembering the infinite and unique ways He’s shown up for us in the past propels us as we grapple with life’s challenges now and in the future.

Altars are visible reminders to ourselves and others that say: God was here and He moved on my behalf, and He can do the same again.

Today and every day, let’s refresh ourselves by remembering what God has already done for us. We can find fresh hope to keep walking through our present wilderness, knowing that God is eternally mighty to save.

I’ve been listening to this song about God’s constancy. Friend, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Rest in that and remember.