Remember me...

"Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."
~ Jeremiah 17:14

For the past week I have spent a lot of time in reflection.  Traveling places I have not seen in decades, renewing friendships, and seeing family.  There have been moments of great joy. I have also encountered sadness as well.   I'm grateful that I have been able to make this journey.

Memories can be many things to us.  They can shape our current life situations, as well as, determine how we respond to others.   

In the final days of Jesus' life, he gathered with his disciples and asked that they simply, "Remember me."

Living in the memory of Jesus prepares us to live with memories that can become opportunities for healing.  Even as we went through things that have been in storage since my stepmother's death seventeen years ago, there were many moments where the memory of her passing became present, but that time had managed to allow for healing.  I was reminded yesterday that time doesn't necessarily heal us, it instead allows for space from the experience.

Healing seems to be connected to our history when we are finally able to look at the experience with where we are now.  A few weeks ago I was visiting with a friend and I shared of how I was feeling about some of the things that I was afraid of encountering by coming home and working through several things that I needed to add closure to.  She reminded me that nothing from the past could harm me because I had already lived through the situations, and "survived."

As Christians, we are participating in a memory that goes far, far back to that great moment when God entered into history and shared the human condition through Jesus.  Somewhere God intercedes in our memories, and change begins to take place.  Our joy and pain seem to connect with a place where they point beyond themselves.  

The events surrounding this journey this week all seem to remind me our lives can be healed by the memory of the incarnation and the Jesus' words to "Remember me."  Suddenly the experience reminds me that we are all part of God's salvation.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2019