Do you realize that with every day that passes we store away memories? It fascinates me to think that I'm building memories. Our mind is like a storehouse for memories. The disappointing aspect of this storehouse is that we store away not only treasures but also trash. You see I love to think I'm constantly building memories but I do not like to look back over many of the memories I've stored away. Memories of, for example, painful moments. Perhaps heated arguments, hurt emotions, the loss of loved ones, and other such memories. We enjoy building up memories because it keeps us on the edge. The question is, on the edge of what? Nostalgia. The French often sing of nostalgie and they do it well because their voices have been trained with the art of reminiscence.
Many of those unpleasant memories are now experiences from which I've learned my lesson. You see life is as a school and we are constantly learning new lessons. Sometimes we are so slow we need to repeat the same lessons over and over for them to sink in. They call this the "hard knock" school. A friend of mine once commented that God often has to knock us down just so we'll learn to look up at Him. Our teachers, the masters of our education, are two. First of all we have experience, and secondly we have example. Of course as Christians we've a third Teacher, a private Tutor, if you will. Whether or not you believe that the Holy Spirit is responsible for Ilumination He is still our Teacher (or Nurse Maid).
Our memories stored away from personally lived experiences serve as teachers to tell us what to do or not do. Although both (or all three) teachers are very practical this one is perhaps the most practical of the three. For example, as a child I experienced the rush of electricity as it kicked me back after having stuck my fingers in a socket. That experience was engraved in my memory and has stood by with me throughout the years. If I'd experienced that and not kept the memory of it I'd foolishly have put my fingers back into the socket. It's kind of like in the movie 50 First Dates (pardon the cheesiness of my illustration). In said movie Adam Sandler has to recapture the love of Drew Barrymore every day. Although this is a good practice for everyone it is not good to the degree in which it was portrayed in this movie. She had absolutely no memory of what happened within every 24 hour span. She remembered the things of her childhood but not what had happened yesterday. Well, every experience lived out in every 24 hour span had to be erased. Thankfully that does not happen to us.
The other teacher, example, is also powerful. Sometimes we also hear this referred to as "role models." Children (and adults) learn from the example of the media - both good and bad. As a child I learned godliness from the example of my father and of the many missionary biographies I read. But just as I learned godliness from my Dad's example I also learned what not to do. Because my Father had been addicted to drugs prior to his conversion I'd often heard his testimony and learned that drugs were something I didn't want to get mixed up in. So I didn't. Not once. Yet there have also been other examples which have presented me with other bad alternatives and I have taken them up on it.
Probably the best news about all this is that our memories are important for us. They are necessary. Not only so we won't put our fingers back in the socket, and have to once again experiment electricity knocking us out. Neither do we need memory only because it serves to present us with examples of what to follow or what not to follow. No, we need memory for these reasons and so many more. We need memory to cherish the beautiful moments of life as well as to learn from the more difficult times.
Someone once said that God in His justice allowed us memory, but that, on the other hand, in His grace He chose to forget. We are not talking of a senile God. Not at all. No, we are talking of a God who graciously chose to forget our sins. So, whether we like it or not, we need it. We're stuck with it. But thanks be to God that He isn't stuck. That He does not need it. He can forget and chooses to do so. We on the other hand need to remember.
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