I sat at my new desk and the first thing he said to me was, “Take out a pen and paper. I want to see that you are taking notes. This is how I want you to do the following tasks.” Intimidating? You bet. Fear of forgetting? Absolutely. I didn’t want to do it wrong in front of him or the others in the office. I wanted to impress my new boss by remembering the things I needed to do.
So how does one commit to memory the important things in life? I used to have all my friends’ and family’s phone numbers memorized. Probably because I had to write them down. Birthdays and Anniversaries. The digital age has changed that practice of remembering. Copy and paste doesn’t do much to help my memory. I spent many childhood Sunday mornings looking up verses in the Bible, as my teacher called them out. I had to have the books of the Old and New testaments memorized to accomplish the task. If I was quick, sometimes I got a prize–I could flip pages fast for chocolate! Result? Books of the Bible memorized.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:11-12 ESV What a verse. I never want to forget all He has done for me.
So, how do we remember something, anything? Repetition. My almost 3-year-old granddaughter knows this very well. She learns everything right now through repetition. Oh, to learn again like a toddler. I must repeat it to remember. Say it again and again. Sing it again and again. Write it again and again. Tell someone again and again. I remember by repeating.
Are you training someone new at work? You get this. You might be the one getting trained. You get it. Moms with kids. You get this, too. Teaching and training feels never ending. Coaching someone toward a goal? They need repetition. New years headlines are full of articles telling us how to start a new habit. You guessed it – repetition.
In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites how to remember. He was the ultimate coach, teacher, mentor and parent. Deuteronomy 6:6-9,12 says, “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates… then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
These are actions of repetition – the same thing written or told many ways, talked about in many places often and over again. Just like God was telling the Israelites to repeat what He had done – sparing their lives in Egypt and parting the waters of the sea, his challenge was to remember and repeat his mights deeds.
Lord, keep me humble, so I never stop telling of your wonders and ways. May I never grow out of remembering and repeating all you are and everything you have done.
I want to remember, ponder and meditate on the things of the Lord. I’ll be writing this Psalm out and reciting it for a while. Repeat to remember.