Today is my son’s 15^th birthday.  I remember 15 years ago like it was yesterday.  He was feet first so Dr. Schuster tried to turn him.  The baby went into fetal distress and they had to take him by emergency C-section.  We didn’t know he was a “he” until he was delivered…….we like surprises. 

Birthdays and other celebrations cause us to remember.  We should practice it more often, though.  We should remember more than those treasured events like our wedding day, holding our newborn in our arms for the first time, or the day we graduated with our degree.  Those are special but there are other things we need to remember.

Playing house with your sister and climbing trees with your brother.  The family vacations to the beach, the crammed ride down, and getting so sunburned you could barely move.

Remember the smell of your grandmother’s cinnamon rolls baking in the oven or the hydrangeas she brought in from her yard to put in the center of the kitchen table?

We need to remember the things that have happened, but things that didn’t happen are just as memorable.    The night my ex-husband and I decided to reconcile, or the day I was given 2 units of blood, or the afternoon my daughter almost drowned in the Little Pigeon River.  I shouldn’t forget the day my son and his friend were out in the back yard shooting his rifle.  It went off accidentally yet no one was hurt. 

The call from our lender letting us know we were approved for our home refinance and  the day Johnny was told he was being hired permanently are answers to prayers we should forever remember. 

When we remember, our heart softens and swells with gratefulness.  Perhaps we are filled with longing for “those days”, or maybe we enter into a time of reflection and something in us shifts and we are filled with compassion or wonder.  Whatever remembering does, it is mostly good.

There are cruel memories, of course.  People have hurt us, or we’ve harmed someone.  We’ve made some bad choices, living with regrets.  Those memories just make the good ones even better……or they can if we will let them.   

Remember.

⁴ Look to the LORD and his strength;  seek his face always. ⁵ Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles.       

                       Psalm 105