One day this week, I was at home in the middle of my usual routine when my phone rang. When I answered it, I heard the voice of my son on the other end. He wanted to come home. Now, I knew he had not seemed to be suffering from any particular illness when I had taken him to school a couple of hours earlier, but he was insistent that he was in distress and needed me to come pick him up right away. Upon further questioning, it became apparent that he had become the victim of an unexpected wardrobe malfunction. It seems the button had somehow come off the waistband of his pants. Although his shirt had plenty of length to cover this calamity, he refused to be comforted and had become so upset that he was almost to the point of meltdown. I offered to bring him new shorts, but that suggestion was countered with the fear that his classmates would notice the change and want to know what happened. So, being the soft touch that I am, I changed my clothes so as not to scare the other students with my interesting choice of home fashion and headed off to rescue my son from the perplexing situation he found himself in.
As I arrived at the school, I was met by a child who was obviously in panic. Now, to me, having been around the block a few times already in life, a button breakdown does not qualify as a code red situation, but to a pre-teen child surrounded by his peers it is nothing short of disastrous. Therefore, after assessing the situation, I decided that the adversity that had come upon him made him a candidate to receive mercy and so I took him home. I fed him lunch, let him watch TV for a time, and also took care of the wardrobe malfunction. Subsequent to all these acts of kindness, I took him back to school so he could finish out the day with dignity.
When school was over, my son returned home all in one piece. After he had eaten in 30 minutes what it would take me a week to consume, I asked him to please unload the dishwasher. An expression came over his face similar to what one would expect had I just asked him to sprint to the nearest coastline and fetch me some fresh whale for supper. Before he could say a word, I reminded him of the kindness I had shown him earlier in the day. To my surprise, his answer was, “What kindness?” I might have been really miffed if I could have stopped laughing long enough. Only a mere 3 hours since I delivered my offspring from what he felt was a time of great trial and tribulation and he had already misplaced that memory somewhere in his mind. Not until I gently reminded him of it did he recall the moment. He really didn’t have anything to say at that point and did a great job of unloading the dishwasher.
Luke chapter 17 tells the story of the 10 lepers who came to Jesus for healing. According to Jesus’ instructions to them, they were to go show themselves to the priest. Somewhere along that road leading to the temple they received the healing of their disease. Nine of them hurried on ahead, not looking back. However, one of them remembered the grace given to him and turned around to go back and acknowledge the One who had been so kind.
Psalm 103:2 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,” reminding us to remember and directing us to dwell upon the good things that God has accomplished in our behalf. Now remembering may not always be spontaneous and we shouldn’t be surprised if we actually have to make an intentional effort to pull those recollections to the forefront of our thinking. The writer of Psalm 77:11 must have been struggling with this same dilemma when he penned the determined declaration, “I WILL remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I WILL remember your miracles of long ago” (emphasis mine).
Why, some may ask, is it so important to keep in mind the work of God’s hand from times past? The reason is multifaceted. Remembering the works of God incites humility and causes us to realize who we are and who we are not. It reminds us that we are not self-reliant and that we are dependent upon One greater than ourselves. Recollection of God’s kindnesses strengthens our faith in God and our confidence in His unfailing love for us. Beyond that, when we retain a consciousness of God’s goodness in our lives, we tend to be more attentive to His commandments, thus avoiding corruption that results from a life lived contrary to His direction.
So whether it takes a note on the refrigerator or a string around our finger, remembering the goodness of God on a regular basis is something not to be forgotten.
At all times and in every place, make sure to stop and reflect on God’s grace.
From morning’s first light until the day finds its end, consider His mercies and remember when…..
© LaDonna Neel – October 2010
