Don’t Forget to Remember!

I am notoriously forgetful but only when it comes to remembering things. In fact I can pretty much forget just about anything and not even feel guilty because I don'’t remember what it was I forgot! That is until someone comes along and awakens my guilt by reminding me of what it was I was supposed to have remembered. Confused yet? Me to!
It seems to me that when it comes to forgetting it can be either good or bad depending on what is supposed to be recalled to memory. It may surprise you that it can be a good thing that some things are forgotten. When horrible events happen the trauma associated with them can push those things to the back of our memories. We are designed this way as a defense mechanism and it is important that this happens to enable us to go on functioning until a more opportune time comes to deal with the trauma. Sometimes these hidden memories can lay dormant for a long time until that person is confronted with them by some event or situation that triggers the recall.
A bad thing to forget is your spouse'’s birthday or your wedding anniversary or some other important date like that. It is also a bad thing when forgetting leads to being seen as unreliable or irresponsible. This kind of forgetfulness basically devalues other people, their time and their efforts. It is very frustrating to those around us and can even sour some relationships if things don'’t improve over time.
History repeats itself because of forgetfulness. One reason that wisdom and discernment are seemingly on short supply in our day is largely do to the fact that the valuable lessons of history are forgotten. Someone once told me "“A mistake is not a mistake if you learn from it!" I think that means that if the mistake is forgotten then the lessons to be learned are also gone. Sadly we are then doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again until we remember the agony associated with it and make the necessary changes.
Tomorrow we will be reminded of the sacrifices of those who fought in wars to preserve the freedoms that most of simply take for granted. Remembrance Day is an important day for all Canadians because it gives us some practice at remembering the sacrifices of others on our behalf. Thank you to all our veterans for what they had to endure and still do endure that we might enjoy the freedoms we have.
Remembering is also a vital part of the practice of our faith in God. Often we meet and remember the great sacrifice Jesus Christ God'’s only Son made when he died for the sins of the world. We also have a designated time on the calendar to help us to remember this event called Good Friday and also Easter Sunday. Often God warns us in the bible not to forget. Instead we are to memorize, to recall, and to bring to mind the teachings of God and obey them in order to bring ourselves into lives filled with great joy.
So I guess I am saying don'’t forget to remember the sacrifices of others on our behalf. From the sacrifice of the men and women of war to the sacrifice of the Son of God on our behalf, we must never forget by intensionally seeking to remember.