my grandma was widowed young in 1971. she lived alone for about 30 years before it became necessary to move her to a home for people suffering from alzheimer's. the first time i visited her, i found her watching tv (i think it was the price is right) with a dozen other alzheimer's patients. she glanced toward the door and then looked right back at the tv. she didn't even recognize her own grandson. i went to her and told her who i was. 'are you sure?' 'who?' these were her responses. finally, after showing her pictures of her son, my dad, and explaining over and over who i was, she believed me. the longer she lived in that home, the better she got. she had labeled polaroids. so when i returned the next time, she knew me by name.
it becomes so easy to forget. it's challenging enough when we forget to get the oil changed, to pick up the dry cleaning, put more diapers in the baby's bag before we leave the house, or when we miss a meeting because it wasn't written down in our planner. but when we forget things that matter for life and death, it becomes dangerous.
read joshua 4:1-9. after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the jordan river was stopped so that the people of Israel could enter the land of promise. God instructed joshua to take 12 men from each of the 12 tribes and that they should get 12 stones from the middle of the jordan. they would build a memorial that would stand forever. a memorial to God's miraculous deliverance.
we need to stack up stones. we need to label polaroids. we need to do whatever it takes to remember God's activity in our lives.
a memory is the reason God instructs us to care for the fatherless, the widow, and the orphan. read deuteronomy 24:17-22. because they were slaves they must now care for those who are on the fringes of society.
dany, a staff member here at hopechest, just returned from her first trip to swaziland. as she has shared with us what she saw and experienced, we know she will not forget. and these memories will motivate and move her as she works here on behalf of the poor and orphaned children we serve in that disease-ravaged country. but we all need to admit that sometimes we do actually forget. this is why we need labeled polaroids. however you label your polaroids (and by that i mean... however you remember what's important in life), whether that's through journals, pictures, community, prayer, etc., you need to know that in this case, memory is a matter of life and death.
remember today to pray for and give to orphaned children.
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