What Good Is a Memory?

"The Forgotten Battle", he said. "Remember that title."

"I'm putting it in my phone."

"We can watch it tomorrow." He countered with a tone that said, "No need for that, just remember it."

Now, I'm not saying we are getting older, but he gets halfway to the kitchen and can't remember why he's going there; I start a sentence and one small interruption, distracts me from what I was saying. We're human; our faculties glitch and wear. If only we could purchase a few more terabytes of storage. 

Then there are those things we prioritize of our own volition. Does my brain need to retain last week's shopping list? No. DELETED! Do I need to recall the phone number of my childhood home? No. DELETED! Do I need to remember the names of our grandchildren? Ab-so-lutely! STORED INDEFINITELY! 💕 Those are some pretty obvious choices --at least, for the grandmothers among us. But how often do we mess that up? How often do we wrongly prioritize or fail to see the value of something. Not long ago, I ripped up a reimbursement check. It was stuck to the back of some junk mail. If you've ever tried to get someone, particularly a large entity, to reissue a check, you know what a fiasco that can be. Obviously, I knew the value, I just wasn't paying attention; I wasn't looking for something of value among the clutter of things addressed to "RESIDENT." 

Scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun. God's people, Israel had a memory glitch as well. Psalm 106 tells us again and again, "They forgot." Verse 7 in The Complete Jewish Bible says, they "failed to grasp the meaning of your wonders." Their human system of purging and retaining what was important was flawed. They didn't understand the significance and therefore, filed God's wonders under "Low Priority." When their judgment wasn't flawed, it was outright rebellious. Verses 13 & 14:

They soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert.

The word translated "forgot" also means to ignore, to cease to care. This was not a case of aging equipment: they didn't even try. No putting it in their phones or tying strings around their finger or retelling of it to younger generations. And as a result, they fell away, followed their feelings, envied, crafted their own idols, griped, sacrificed their children, and suffered God's wrath. 

What good is a memory? The Bible is chock full of memories from cover to cover! The history of the past becomes the wise counsel of today. Memory holds us firmly in place when the storms of life come. What has God said? What has God done? Memory keeps us on our knees in reverence and brokenness as we recall who God has revealed Himself to be. Memory bathes our spirits in comfort and assurance when the way is grievous. Memory boosts our stamina when the way seems long. And it is my earnest prayer that when I am old(er) and gray(er), though my mind may crumble and memories fly like dust to the wind, though I may recall nothing else, what is indelibly imprinted on my soul is God's purest hesed for me and my unwavering devotion to Him.