2025: A Year of Remembering!

             2025 is now three days old.  So, how many New Year’s Resolutions have you broken?  If you say none, give it time.  I’m sure you will catch up with the rest of us pretty quickly.  Most of us start the new year with high expectations, thinking that the strike of midnight on December 31st will miraculously change our lives.  Unfortunately, reality soon sets in, and we fall back into our old ways.

            Despite the ineffectiveness of most New Year’s Resolutions, I’m going to challenge us to one that I hope we will make every effort to keep.  On New Year's Eve, I wrote about remembering the events of the past year.  As we begin this New Year, I challenge us to prepare for “remembering” next New Year’s Eve by writing down the ways that God moves in our lives daily. 

            God knows how fragile our memories are—especially as we grow older.  Early on, He told the Israelites to write His commandments on their doorposts (Deuteronomy 6: 9).  He even engraved the names of the tribes of Israel on His hands (Isaiah 49: 16).  God is all-knowing so there is no danger that He would forget them or us, but His action symbolizes His faithfulness to us.  He remembers, and He challenges us to do the same.

            The Psalmist said, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77: 11, 12 NIV84). 

            So, how do we accomplish this “remembering”?  Perhaps the easiest way would be to keep a journal every day, listing how God was present in your life each day.  This allows us to reflect on the day’s events, give thanks in the moment, and record it for future reflection. 

            Surprisingly, as much as I like to write, I have never been successful at journaling.  I guess this blog is as close to journaling as I’ll ever get.  However, I have tried another way of remembering and hope to resume it this year.  At the end of each day, I write a sentence or two, remembering the blessings of the day.  Then, I fold up the slip of paper and put it in a vase that sits on my dresser.  It’s a simple way of journaling that still allows me to reflect on my day and on how I saw God moving.  By the end of the year, I hope I have a full vase of blessings that I can look back on and remember the faithfulness of God.

            We are only on day 3 of the new year, so there is plenty of time for you to join me.  Remembering daily will also challenge us to give thanks daily.  God is good, all the time.  Remember and give thanks!

Psalm 77: 13 – 14

Psalm 100

II Corinthians 9: 15

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