A Responsibility to Remember

As a Gen-Xer, I grew up hearing stories about the Great Depression and WWII. I learned of the hardships and sufferings my great-grandparents and grandparents endured. I listened to accounts of life in poverty—of empty bellies and too tight shoes, of leaving school in the eighth grade to support the family, of relational brokenness, neglect, and abandonment. I heard the stories of war and saw its decades long impact, especially the emotional scars that lingered far after all the the physical ones healed.

In all these stories, I heard whispers of grace. I saw how the Lord was faithful. I could trace his grace throughout the generations of my family, bringing hope and redemption in the midst of brokenness.

In Deuteronomy 11, Moses prepares God’s people for entering the Promised Land. He calls them to obey God and his commands. And he calls them to remember all God has done. But he doesn’t call on just anyone. He calls on specific people: those who remember what God had done for them in delivering them out of Egypt and bringing them through the desert. He calls on those who experienced the Lord’s discipline firsthand. He calls on those who witnessed God’s faithfulness to tell the younger generations of God’s great work among them.

“And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place…For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did” (Deut. 11:2-5, 7).

We also have a responsibility to remember who God is and what he has done. Further, we have a responsibility to pass on that testimony to those behind us, to share the stories of God’s grace at work in our lives.

Moses continues, telling God’s people that they are to teach their children about God, about his character, his works, and his ways. They are to teach them all God has taught them, at all times and in all places. They are to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord.

For Israel, that meant passing on the redemption story of the Exodus. It meant teaching their children about God’s law and his commands. It meant cautioning them with the consequences of what happened during their desert wanderings, of the discipline they received, and of the punishment several families faced in Numbers 16. They were to learn of the covenant God made with his people, and of its accompanying blessings and curses. They were to hear and understand their story and legacy, the special call that made them a people, a family of God.

On this side of the cross, we as parents— we as spiritual guardians of the testimony, we as those who have witnessed the mighty acts of God—have a responsibility to remember. I grew up wondering why my grandparents always talked about the past. They were always remembering. Now that I am older, I understand a bit more about remembrance. If we fail to remember God’s past deliverance, we won’t trust him in the present. This happened all too often in Israel’s history. They quickly forgot God’s faithfulness and turned instead to false gods and counterfeit saviors. Remembrance keeps our gaze fixed on who God is and what he has done. It gives us a holy perspective.

But we don’t remember these stories to keep them to ourselves. We have an important call to share what we have seen and experienced with those behind us. To urge on our children, grandchildren, younger men and women, and those we teach and mentor, in the faith. To encourage them with the ways God has answered prayer. To equip them with gospel-filled stories of how God met people in their suffering with his strength and deliverance. To exhort them with truth in the face of falsehood. To help shape their identity, meaning, and purpose around the grand story of redemption: of a people beloved before time began and bought at a very great price.

No matter what age and stage we are in, we need to be around those who take their responsibility to remember seriously. The older I get, the more I need to hear from those ahead of me how the Lord has carried them all these years. We all have a responsibility to remember. Who are you sharing your stories with?

Everyday Faithfulness in Seasons of Waiting

The year was 1943. My grandparents were married only a few months when my grandfather joined the Army to fight in WWII.

Over the course of that year, my grandfather would travel to bases in VA and GA to complete his training before heading overseas to Europe where he would eventually receive orders to head to the beaches of Normandy in June of the following year. A technical problem would delay him by a day or two, protecting his life and ultimately, that of my own. For my grandmother, the year of 1943 was a year of waiting. Waiting for letters from my grandfather, waiting to hear where he was and what he was doing, and like the rest of the nation, waiting for the war to end.

I know all this because when I visited my parents this summer, my dad gave me my grandmother’s diary from 1943. It’s small and fits in the palm of my hand. Rather than a journal used to document one’s thoughts and feelings, this diary was used to jot down the events of the day. My grandmother did just that, writing down what she did each day the year of 1943. And what stood out to me the most is the mundane nature of life, even in the midst of war, even while waiting for news from my grandfather. Mundane things like: cooking, cleaning, and ironing, walking down to the country store for groceries (they didn’t own a car and even after they did, my grandmother never learned to drive), going to the beauty parlor, visiting with family and friends, worshipping at church, and signing up new Army recruits at the local schoolhouse.

And writing letters each day to my grandfather—many of which we still have.

As I read through the diary, through the lists of tasks and activities accomplished each day, it reminded me how much of life is filled with mundane duties and tasks. Everyday things. Errands and chores. Necessary duties of life.

Even while waiting. Even in the midst of crisis.

I tend to freeze in the face of uncertainty. I tend to push pause until I know what the future holds. I tend to zero in on the crisis and forget everything else. But life is made up of daily acts of faithfulness. Of doing what needs to be done. Of living out our callings each day. We don’t know what the future holds. We are called to glorify God this day. We are called to live for him and his glory in all that we do, even in the daily, everyday activities of life (1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:17).

In the spring of 1943, my grandmother wrote that she planted a garden in the yard. Growing up, my grandparents always had a garden. To this day, the best watermelon I’ve tasted came from their backyard. The act of planting a garden is one of sowing seeds of hope. The gardener does not know what will come of those seeds. She does not even know if she will be there come the harvest. She plants them anyway and each day tends to that garden. Whatever the weather or circumstances, she waters and pulls weeds and checks for harmful insects. In our own lives, we too need to till the soil of life, plant seeds, water them, and wait for God to produce the fruit. Whether we are looking for a job, laboring for restoration in a relationship, or praying for a crisis to come to an end, we need to do the daily work of life—all to the glorify God.

My grandmother’s little journal from 1943 challenged me in 2020 to remember that whatever I am waiting for, whatever the unknown future holds, whatever crisis surrounds me, I need to continue forward, doing the next thing, for the glory of God.

God's Faithfulness in Every Season

I haven't experienced spring in twenty years.

Oh, I've traveled during the months of spring to places where flowers and trees are waking from their slumber. I've seen the daffodils and tulips pop out from the ground, bringing a sudden splash of color to a gray landscape.

But I haven't watched the spring transformation take place in two decades. I haven't witnessed the world change from death to life over a period of weeks. 

Now that we've moved away from a tropical climate, I get to experience spring again. We have a large window in our kitchen with a table in front of it. I like to sit there and watch the world outside in our backyard. Since we moved here last spring, I've watched everything come full circle. I watched the green trees in my yard transform into shades of crimson, gold, and rust. I saw the grass turn brown and die. I witnessed the leaves blow off in the wind and flutter to the ground. And before long, I saw hail, ice, and snow batter the same window.

Then, in late January, because it was unseasonably warm, I saw pink buds form on a neighbor's tree. Slowly more trees began to bloom with flowers. Then the daffodils and other flowers came to life. My neighbor's camellia bush burst in color. But the oaks, maples, and other trees still did not have leaves. I looked out the window each morning, wondering when they would appear.

Remarkably, it was the first day of spring. I looked out my kitchen window again and noticed little green specks on the ends of each tree branch. The beginnings of leaves!

Watching the seasons come and go each year for some may be tiresome. And I probably took it for granted growing up in a four season climate. But seeing it again after twenty years was wonderful. I marveled at the process. And not just at the beauty of nature. Not just at the stark contrast between the dark emptiness of winter and the colorful life of spring.

But at the faithful hand of God.

Day in and day out, the sun rises. Every single morning. The earth turns on its axis, rotating exactly as it should. Time moves forward at the same rate each second, minute, and hour. The season for planting comes as does the harvest at its appointed time. The animals make their nests, birth their young, gather for winter, and wait for spring to come again. 

Psalm 119 says, "Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants." (vv. 89-91).

God is faithful and true. He does all that He says He will do. He makes everything happen as He has ordained it to. By His very word, He keeps and sustains all things. He is a covenant keeping God who fulfills all that He has decreed. 

Just as the seasons unfold throughout the year, just as the sun rises each morning, just as the cherry tree blossoms in spring, we can trust in God's faithfulness. He is as sure as the sunrise each morning, the gravity that holds us to the ground, and the air we breathe. God's faithfulness in the created world around us is a constant reminder of His faithfulness toward His people. 

His faithfulness is often joined together in Scripture with His love. "The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6). The ultimate display of His love and faithfulness is found in Christ, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). 

This is a good reminder for me as life is often filled with uncertainty. I have things in my life which I fear will never change or come to an end. There are other things which keep me up at night, wondering what will happen and when. The seeming unpredictability of life can keep me on edge, feeling anxious, fretful, and fearful.

But for God's faithfulness.

The beauty and wonder of spring, as amazing as new life and growth is, serves to point me to the One who holds the world in His hands. As He cares for His creation, how much more so does He care for me? As our Savior said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6: 25-26).

God is faithful in the life of a sparrow and in the life of His people. As we trace His faithfulness back through the seasons, year in and year out, we will see the constant pattern of His love and faithfulness on display, not only in creation, but in our very lives as well. Eventually, we'll trace it back to the cross itself where Christ fulfilled every promise and met every requirement and answered every heart's longing and cry. God was faithful to us in Christ and is faithful to us in this very moment and into eternity.

Do you see God's love and faithfulness in your life?