Don't Forget to Remember

*snort*

They say the first 3 things that go when you get older are your eyesight, your hearing and your...um, I forget.

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So...I am a little slow on finishing this post, as you can tell by the "New Year's Eve" reference up above.  Oh, well, life happens, eh? (That was said in my lower-North Dakota-Canadian accent - could you tell?)

But back to the point: remembering...or is it forgetting?  It all depends on how you look at it, I guess.  This past year truly was a blur and, in all honesty, I can't remember most of it.  I want to...I just can't.  But I'd like to think that I remember the important things: Chris' visits home, meeting Miss Mairead for the first time, our family trip to the lake, Colin's first guitar recital, running a 5K with Isaac, shopping at IKEA (OK, I'm kidding about that one. Kind of.)

For many of us, there was a lot that was probably not worth remembering: job issues, family issues, fights, heartbreak, loss, or even death for some of us. But there was also good things: time with friends & family, that new job, a new start, laughter, moments of peace and rest, making up, healing, forgiveness (giving & receiving), blessings and new life.

I think one of keys of living a contented life is learning (and choosing) what to remember...and what to forget.

Because sometimes forgetting is good.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
   Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? ~Isaiah 43:118-19

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

~Phillippians 3:13-14

But sometimes forgetting is bad.

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. 

~Isaiah 17:10

Forgetting God and all he had done for us.  Bad.  Definitely bad. 

We need to remember...

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced... 

~I Chronicles 16:11,12

Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
  Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 

~Psalm 103:1-2

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 

“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 

~Luke 22:19

Because I am so thankful for what God remembers...

He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations... 

~ Psalm 105:8

...for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented.

~ Psalm 106:45

The LORD remembers us and will bless us...

~Psalm 115:12

God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant... 

~Exodus 2:24

And for what he forgets...

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. 

~Isaiah 43:25

Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. 

~Hebrews 10:17

God does not want us dwelling in the past - yet it is so important that we remember what He has done for us and what he has brought us through.  We need to remember how he blessed us, delivered us, provided for us, healed us...saved us!  We need to remember the good, forget that which holds us back, shames us, or condemns us, and look ahead to the future that God has in store for us. A future he promises is full of hope, joy and blessing.

So repeat after me:

We need to remember to forget what needs to be forgotten. 

                    Without forgetting to remember what needs to remembered.

Got it? (Now I just hope we don't forget!)