A friend having a birthday quipped that he's old enough to forget what he's doing at the moment but he can remember the past very well. I understand how that works! I can walk down the hall - which takes all of 5 seconds - and forget what I'm going for.
I remember getting hit in the face and in the head by baseballs. I remember being so proud to draw a walk instead of striking out that I was almost picked off first base. (I didn't get there much.) I remember both times I got whippings in school. I remember some of the great decisions I've made. I remember all the bad ones.
As I turn the page on the calendar each day I am often face to face with a memory. Friends and family surround my mind's eye when I see a date on the calendar. I am grateful for that even though not all the memories are good ones.
I use to say this: I am where I am because of where I've been. I am today a composite of all those memories, even the ones I forgot. How I view the world and react to situations have developed over time. Just like my shirt size is a result of what I eat, my life today is a result of my having lived.
The world we live in is broken by sin. Each one of us is a sinner. What the world needs and what we need is redemption and restoration. The Bible promises that a day will come when all of creation will be redeemed or restored to the perfection of God's original work. The Bible also says that I am already being restored by the transforming work of God's Spirit in my life.
It's the same for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin. We are being changed. Although my memories of my mistakes are some of my most vivid ones, I'm not who I was. Those mistakes do warp my life but Jesus makes it right. I'm not perfect - you can find plenty of witnesses to that fact! - but I'm being perfected. And like the Apostle Paul I will press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me (Philippians 3:12).
If you see me wandering around Walmart would you please speak to me and remind me how to get home?
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