Please remind me...
I'm starting to forget things. I know it's a sign of getting older and I will be turning forty later this year, but I prefer to think of it as having used up all my available brain cells and now resorting to recycling them. Call it what you like, my memory needs refreshing from time to time. So when you and I run into each other, please remind me....
God has blessed me with many things, but grace and coordination are not among them. I've known this since I was young. I tried to water ski, and I hurt myself. I tried to snow ski, and I hurt myself. I went hiking instead of rock climbing (smart choice), and I fell into a cactus and hurt myself. I went climbing on some rocks at Perdenales State Park (not as smart a choice), fell and broke my arm, a.k.a. hurt myself. And yet, for some reason all of this escaped my mind when afforded an opportunity to go ice skating this weekend. I'll be careful, I thought. I could use the exercise, I thought. I can handle this, I thought. And then I fell. And I hurt myself. And only after nursing a bruised head and sprained elbow, THEN I remembered that I am a clutz.
Just because ice cream is available does not mean that I am the one who is supposed to eat it. That goes for chocolate, apple pie, french fries, and Frosted Mini Wheats, too. Where those frosted wheat bits and milk are, there you will find me. For some reason, there is a place in my brain that believes the world will crumble if I do not consume such wonders immediately. I don't even need to be hungry. A mere awareness of their presence is enough. These beautiful foods are gifts of God - but not just for me. I CAN share. I CAN have just a little now and a little later. I CAN wait until I'm actually hungry. I do not have to eat the whole box RIGHT NOW.
If I haven't updated my Facebook status today, that doesn't mean I don't exist. Most evenings I log in to see what's going on in my circle of family and friends. I scroll through the photos, announcements, and clever quotes, enjoying even this frail connection with the world outside. Then I look at the link at the top that says "What's on your mind?" And I go blank. There's nothing on my mind. Then I start to panic. Have I lost my mind? Did it slip away when I wasn't noticing? Has nothing happened at all today that is status update worthy? Is my life really that boring? Do I HAVE a life? Okay...deep breaths....oh yeah, social networking is not the real world. Thanks for the reminder.
No one's life will end if I don't check off all of the things on my to-do list today. In fact, no one will probably care. It's not that the work I do isn't important. It is. But so is eating and sleeping and my family and my sanity. Putting something in pen and ink on paper doesn't equate a contract signed in blood. Some things can wait until tomorrow. But....but...but....it's on the LIST!!!
Despite all of the above, God loves me anyway. In fact, the Bible says He's crazy about me. Me? Yeah... "enthralled with [my] beauty" in fact (Psalm 45:11). Thank you, Angela Thomas, for the reminder. I don't feel very beautiful very often. I sometimes don't feel very lovable either. Yet God's word stands as truth, regardless of what I feel. The Scriptures sit in my hands, ready to affirm all of His heart and his purposes in loving me with this crazy, absurd, unbelievable love. It's just that sometimes, I forget.
So what do you need to be reminded of?
God has blessed me with many things, but grace and coordination are not among them. I've known this since I was young. I tried to water ski, and I hurt myself. I tried to snow ski, and I hurt myself. I went hiking instead of rock climbing (smart choice), and I fell into a cactus and hurt myself. I went climbing on some rocks at Perdenales State Park (not as smart a choice), fell and broke my arm, a.k.a. hurt myself. And yet, for some reason all of this escaped my mind when afforded an opportunity to go ice skating this weekend. I'll be careful, I thought. I could use the exercise, I thought. I can handle this, I thought. And then I fell. And I hurt myself. And only after nursing a bruised head and sprained elbow, THEN I remembered that I am a clutz.
Just because ice cream is available does not mean that I am the one who is supposed to eat it. That goes for chocolate, apple pie, french fries, and Frosted Mini Wheats, too. Where those frosted wheat bits and milk are, there you will find me. For some reason, there is a place in my brain that believes the world will crumble if I do not consume such wonders immediately. I don't even need to be hungry. A mere awareness of their presence is enough. These beautiful foods are gifts of God - but not just for me. I CAN share. I CAN have just a little now and a little later. I CAN wait until I'm actually hungry. I do not have to eat the whole box RIGHT NOW.
If I haven't updated my Facebook status today, that doesn't mean I don't exist. Most evenings I log in to see what's going on in my circle of family and friends. I scroll through the photos, announcements, and clever quotes, enjoying even this frail connection with the world outside. Then I look at the link at the top that says "What's on your mind?" And I go blank. There's nothing on my mind. Then I start to panic. Have I lost my mind? Did it slip away when I wasn't noticing? Has nothing happened at all today that is status update worthy? Is my life really that boring? Do I HAVE a life? Okay...deep breaths....oh yeah, social networking is not the real world. Thanks for the reminder.
No one's life will end if I don't check off all of the things on my to-do list today. In fact, no one will probably care. It's not that the work I do isn't important. It is. But so is eating and sleeping and my family and my sanity. Putting something in pen and ink on paper doesn't equate a contract signed in blood. Some things can wait until tomorrow. But....but...but....it's on the LIST!!!
Despite all of the above, God loves me anyway. In fact, the Bible says He's crazy about me. Me? Yeah... "enthralled with [my] beauty" in fact (Psalm 45:11). Thank you, Angela Thomas, for the reminder. I don't feel very beautiful very often. I sometimes don't feel very lovable either. Yet God's word stands as truth, regardless of what I feel. The Scriptures sit in my hands, ready to affirm all of His heart and his purposes in loving me with this crazy, absurd, unbelievable love. It's just that sometimes, I forget.
So what do you need to be reminded of?
Comments