Memorials, Mementos, and Memories
It’s funny how our minds work. The other day I heard a song that evoked a memory of riding in a friend’s car, which led to memories of his first sermon on a mission trip, which led to memories of a starlit Mexican sky, and so on. Memories are like a locked room, and sometimes we find a little key—a song, a smell, a memento—that opens the door.
Sometimes the key opens pleasant memories, like the feeling of rubbing buttercups on our chins when we were little. Other memories we’d like to keep locked up with the key to that door at the bottom of the ocean. Either way, memories are a gift from God that help guide us down better paths.
Our house enjoys Christopher Nolan movies, which are often explorations of how memories work. Memento is one that explores the power and futility of memories. It’s a haunting, dark film, but it highlights the importance of holding onto memories.
God commands his people, hundreds of times in the Bible, to remember. From “Remember the Sabbath” to “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” God directs us to unlock mind-doors and connect our pasts to our present and future actions.
Having created us in his image, it makes perfect sense that God is a rememberer too. “I will remember my covenant,” he says numerous times throughout the Old Testament. Genesis 9 indicates rainbows stir up memories in God’s mind, reminding him to never destroy the earth again via flood. When we confess our sins, Leviticus 26 declares, we unlock an ancient memory of God and his friend, Abraham.
He gave us the concept of creating milestones and mementos as tools to help us unlock memories. He established holidays, like Passover and Yom Kippur. God’s special leaders, like Jacob, Joshua and Samuel, set up monuments to remind them of God’s hand in their lives. You may remember Samuel called his memorial, “Rock of help,” or Ebenezer. (Loyal readers, do you remember the Hebrew word, ezer?)
I have several mementos occupying space in my life. There are 20-30 baseball caps in my closet, from my first all-star team at age ten to my last game as a professional ballplayer. I also keep letters from loved ones in my bedside table drawer. Like many of you, I wear a memento on my left hand every day. I’d have a lot more mementos, like my root beer can and band-aid collections, if I weren’t blessed with an organizer for a wife.
I like to be reminded of the good life God has given me. I am blessed with hundreds, maybe thousands, of tender memories, each unlocked by little keys. For example, every time I see a seagull, I’m reminded of a special group of high school friends with whom I learned to follow Jesus on a beach trip in Port Aransas, Texas. These memories guide me forward, giving me confidence that God will honor his promises while I continue down his sometimes-scary path.
There are new memories to create as well, especially as I am currently in a milestone-rich time of my life. My oldest child just graduated high school, while my youngest child just graduated elementary school. Life is moving too fast, and I need to pile up stones so these newly formed memories don’t escape.
What about you? Do you remember to remember? Do you have your own ebenezers to remind you where God is leading you? Your mind is not just a funny thing but an amazing gift from God, unique to the masterpiece he created when he formed you. He is forming you still, building memories upon memories, all for the purpose of leading you closer to him.
