remembering

Learning is a big part of life, but so is remembering. Lately I've found myself reminded of some important things in my life that had seemed to fade into the background. Now I'm wondering if remembering gets more important as we get older, being reminded again and again of the most important things in life.

We think of our lives as a progression and talk of progress. But so much in life is cyclic. Days, seasons, generations, over and over. I've often thought that the act of faith is really the same movement of our spirit every time, over and over, just in different (perhaps more difficult) circumstances.

One of the values of religious practices is how they can remind us of what is important. Like when Jesus gave the bread and wine and said, "Do this in remembrance of me." Every morning I pray "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart" to be reminded. And at meals, "our hope is in you Father." Worship as a time of remembering.

That's one of the best parts of keeping a journal, too. Looking back and being reminded of what God has done.