Forgetfulness

It's kind of weird the things we end up remembering, or for that matter, the things we don't remember. I have a crystal clear recollection of sitting in Mr. Berg's kindergarten classroom and physically sticking my finger in a tub of glue, then eating it. Yet, I can't hardly remember anything about some important events such as high school graduation. I consider myself to have a pretty good memory, but tell me to remember something about the year 1994, or 1998, and I draw a blank. That's a lot of days gone by to not remember much. I wonder why this is? Why would God design us with such a poor ability to remember? Sure, we can retain information, and the brain can store all sorts of stuff that we educate ourselves on. There's even people who have whole books of the Bible memorized. But when it comes to daily life, recalling how we spend our hours awake seems to be difficult for anyone. I applaud my mother for her diary entries. Once a week, she writes a few sentences about the week that was. To me, that's impressive considering there are times I can't even remember what I did a day ago.

Enough with the introduction though. Here's my point. As time passes, the once significant moments in our life often fall victim to our poor memory. It's why every youth retreat I've been on ended with the same talk from the youth pastor. He would say something to the effect of not letting go of the "spiritual high" you are on. He would remind us that the truths that were revealed the past days are real, that God is real, and as soon as we settle into next week, the devil will undoubtedly attack us and try to bring us back down. He was always right. Try as I may, the fire that was burning just days prior had been reduced to a dull flame. I guess because life can be so daily, so routine based, it's easy to let that high eventually fall. But that's really no excuse.

I'm not questioning why God created us the way he did. There's a reason we have to fight our mind to recall important things. This is why continually reinforcing our faith is important. Going to church helps my faith because a good sermon can go a long ways, and I'll probably remember it for at least a few days. Doing my devotions also promotes and helps keep the spiritual drive going strong. The Bible address this dilemma of forgetfulness many times, and so I'll end this with a verse that I pray you take to heart, so that the next time you hear or encounter God's voice, it will stick with you.

Only 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.
-Deuteronomy 4:9