It was 28 years ago that I started my first job at the Luverne Dairy Queen. Growing up on a dairy farm and having a particular fondness for ice cream, I was certain it would be a good fit. My boss was a no-nonsense old gal who I grew to love dearly, but her initial demeanor was similar to that of a drill sergeant. She showed me around the restaurant in her stern, matter-of-fact way defining her rules and expectations as we went. As a customer came through the doors, we made our way to the front counter where she instructed me to take his order. When he decided what his taste buds were craving, I picked up a pen and paper to record his choices. Before the ink made contact with the parchment, my boss’s hand was on top of mine. She quietly said, “If you can’t remember an order for one person, we are going to have a problem here.” And she was right! There was really no reason that I couldn’t remember a list of three items for a few minutes while the particulars of his meal were being assembled. It became a challenge to see how many orders my coworkers and I could remember without writing them down.
But that was then, and this is now. The older I get, the more forgetful I seem to become. A pen and paper or my smartphone have become my lifeline to remembering. Making a mental note of something is no longer adequate. Whether it’s aging brain cells or mental laziness I’m not sure, but we all seem to struggle with some degree of forgetfulness and pass it off as a valid excuse. When my son was in elementary school he would often throw out the rationalization: “I just forgot”. To which I usually responded, “You didn’t try to remember.”
Maybe forgetfulness has been around since the beginning of time. When reading the Genesis story about Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden I have often wondered why Eve twisted God’s words about his instructions concerning the trees that were forbidden. Perhaps it was a bit of exaggeration, but maybe she hadn’t paid close enough attention to remember the details in the first place.
Apparently God knew that people would have a hard time with their memory. He commanded the Israelites to remember the Sabbath, to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt, and to remember the wonders he had done. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses also warns the Israelites concerning their forgetfulness. “10When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws, and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13and when your herds and flocks increase and all you have is multiplied, 14then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
We ARE a forgetful people. We forget the gifts, the blessings, the lessons learned. We forget the grace, the mercy, the love. We forget the Creator, the Sustainer, the Gift Giver. Or do we even try to remember?
The words of a song by Natalie Grant recently grabbed my attention. She sings, “When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the world? I try to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world.” Is that you? Have you forgotten who has always been the King of the world? Has God been asking you to remember? Do you need a reminder? I know I have! May it never be said of us that we have forgotten what the Lord has done for us.
Don’t forget to remember!
Erin Jacobsma