Remember

A lot of things are written about the high and low points of life, but very little is written about the in-between transition times. Yet the majority of our lives are spent in transition.  Transitions are when we are waiting for an upcoming big event that will inevitably change everything. It could be a promotion, retirement, graduation or even a marriage.  Sometimes the transition can be just waiting on Friday to get here or waiting to feel better. We know it is coming, we are hopeful and nervous, but we are waiting. This time seems to be a waste and we just want to skip to the big event!

We all know we would not get to those big events without the days, months, and years of work, however somehow they get minimized in our minds.  When you see a graduation or a retirement or a ten-year pin, remember the mornings you got up when you didn’t want to.  Remember all those testing times you endured, thinking you were ready to quit.  Remember all the fun times you skipped to do the right thing.  Remember the bad dates, the surly coworkers, crazy bosses, and ridiculous assignments.  But remember mostly who got you through it.  Remember who led you there.  Remember who had your back when you had no one to turn to.  Remember those God-given abilities that kept you keeping on.  Remember the prayers you prayed and He answered.  

This year is monumental for me.  I get my first ever ten-year pin!  I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal to you, but believe me, it didn’t happen without many answered prayers.  The other day I was getting sentimental about the past ten years, so I opened my journal from 2009.  There I saw a prayer I prayed.  Ten years later it brought me to my knees because looking back I could see that my loving Father answered every detail of that prayer and so much more.  

Even on the Mondays, never doubt that God is there holding you up and answering prayers in ways better than you could ever hope or imagine.  But in order to really see this, you must take the time to remember the bad days.  Remember what you endured.  If you are like me, I always thought it was unhealthy to think about the hurts of the past.  However, I have found that it is healthy to remember what you have endured with a thankful, humble heart.  It will give you perspective and hope for the next bad day, month or year. 

Remembering is not a small thing.  It is stated many times throughout the Bible.  God made remembering an integral part of our lives with him.  He told the Israelites to remember their slavery and years of wandering in the desert.  Even the beautiful rainbow was to remind us of the deliverance from the great flood.  So in this season of graduations and retirements, remember not just the good times, but remember the miserable times.  Remember your deliverance.  It is healthy.  It is commanded.  

Lamentations 3:19-26 NIV

[19] I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. [20] I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. [21] Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: [22] Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. [23] They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. [24] I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” [25] The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; [26] it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.