I Write to Not Forget

A day or two ago there was such a sweet moment in my household that I never wanted to forget. It had to do with something unique and funny that my husband was doing with my kids, that brought me a smile and surge of love for the family I am privileged to call my own.

The problem is, I don't remember what it was.

Multiple times a day and dozens of times a month, I have moments like these. Words my kids have spoken, stories that bring us laughter, ministry moments that touch my heart, experiences we encounter and things I observe at home or out and about in the city where we live. I think, "I need to remember this." Or, "I should write about that." And then, I forget.

It is a long-standing agreement in my family that the missionary life is so crammed full of people and places and experiences and memories that at some point our brains just can't hold it all. My parents and sisters and I agree on this point when yet again someone shares a story in which we all played a part and half of us have to admit, "I don't remember that at all!"

Recently a longtime friend referred to an exchange between the two of us years ago which she has never forgotten. Thankfully she did so in writing, so I wasn't in that uncomfortable position of racking my brain right on the spot to respond. Unfortunately I have since tried to imagine that conversation and for the life of me, cannot recall it.

So I am frustrated, and I am inspired. I need to remember. And to remember, I need to write.

I write to remember.

And I write to not forget.

Recently I have had the privilege of studying the lives of the Biblical patriarchs with a small group of ladies. So many times in their journeys, these men chosen by God would leave a permanent record of some sort to remember what God had done for them. The Jewish people themselves celebrated - and continue to celebrate - many feasts of remembrance according to God's directives to them. So there is a spiritual aspect to remembering, primarily as it recalls God's working in our lives. That is what I want to capture as well.

Help me, Lord, to leave a written legacy not only of the sweet and sentimental moments of life but of the great and small ways You work in it. Thank You that ultimately You are the Author and I am simply the scribe. Amen.