Don't Forget

Kids' homework assignments. Tonight’s dinner. Grocery store items. The laundry that still needs to be folded and put away. Work deadlines. And my daughter’s permission slip for next week’s field trip. These are a few of things that my mind has been spinning with this week.

What about yours?

God knows how easily the blessings He brings to our lives can become familiar to us. And He sees how easily distracted we are by our schedules and lists. Perhaps that’s why He reminded His children through Moses to “…be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deut 4:9, NIV

It was a good encouragement to me as I read these verses recently in the Read through the Bible Challenge -- to remember. How easily I can forget the ways God has answered prayer and how He has blessed our family.

Some of the ways I am trying to preserve these God stories in our own family are to:

Tell the stories of how God came through for us by providing a job for my husband in a struggling economy, by bringing buyers for our home after our small group gathered to pray there together, and even by allowing my husband and me to meet each other years ago in the dorm lobby of a college neither of us attended. They love hearing these stories as much as they enjoy watching our old home videos!

Talk about Who He is in our everyday life (Deut. 6:7).  There are many evidences of God’s design and beauty around us in the Spring season as the world seems to awaken from a long, chilly sleep. Familiarity can sometimes cause me to miss the beauty of the tiny new plants breaking through the soft soil, the robin building her nest in our backyard tree, and the buds on our pear tree. I must be careful to notice these reminders with my children and to praise the God who faithfully gives them to us.

Create physical reminders that will be seen often (Deut. 6:8).  The Jews used many physical reminders of God’s provision such as memorial stones and festivals. In American culture, we have annual celebrations meant to help us remember too like Easter and Christmas. It’s important that we use these and other personal “memorials” to remind our children in a more tangible way of God’s goodness – to remember Him.

Write it down (Deut. 6:9). I do this in an online journal which can be passed on through generations. Our family is also working on creating a kind of spiritual genealogy to pass on to our children and grandchildren. You can do the same by asking grandparents and/ or other believers in your family to write out their stories of salvation and the many ways that God has worked in their lives.

It’s easy to become distracted by our schedules and busy lives. Building in reminders for ourselves and for our children is an important way to ensure that we are remembering God’s work in our lives and creating an attitude of gratefulness and confidence for the present and for the future.