‘Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,  on those who hope on his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death.” Psalm 33:18-19

“When you’re young you have dreams, when you’re old you have memories.”  Jean Patrick

“Do this in remembrance of me.”  Jesus of Nazareth

Memorial Day is a special time for remembering.  In general remembering all those who have given their lives in service to their country.  More specifically for remembering those who are close to us that have served in the armed forces.  My dad was one of those people.

He served in WWII, part of the wave of troops that entered into the conflict after the storming of the beaches in Normandy.  He never talked much about his time in the military, other than to say he was at the Nuremburg trials.  As a kid I would always accompany him to the cemeteries, where as part of the honor guard, he would fire his rifle as part of the salute to the dead.  Memorial Day marks the time when he is foremost on my mind.

There are different kinds of memories.  Some are fleeting, passing by your thoughts like a jet making a fast flyover.  Others hang around a bit longer.  You chew on them, savor them, like a delicious dessert.  And still others soak in and saturate you at the depths of your soul.  The go deep into your inner being.  The person or event that is being remembered becomes so real that it is almost as if they are there with you, or that you are re-living that which the memory is evoking.  That is the type of memory that might be called “re-membering.”

Re-membering indicates just what the name implies—it is the process or occasion of making something or someone so real that it is as if it is being relived.  You sink deep into thought, perhaps involuntarily closing your eyes, and allow yourself to be carried back in time to that special place.  You feel your heart warm, your body relax, your spirit rest with a certain peace.  Do you know what I’m talking about?  Have you ever done that?  What was the occasion or the topic or the person?

I think that is what Jesus was talking about when he spoke of remembering him while taking communion.  I’m almost positive that is what my mom had in mind when she said, “When you’re young you have dreams, when you’re old you have memories.”   I remember her on numerous occasions recounting special times in her life.  One of them that she repeated frequently was taking her three little girls down by the banks of Main Creek to have a picnic.  As she retold the story it was as if she was being transported back in time, re-experiencing it all over again.

Living in a world that is far too busy for our own good it is easy to overlook or ignore the importance of re-membering.  Of making the time to sit quietly and give space to those special memories, or taking the initiative to go to a place, like a cemetery on Memorial Day, where memories will be evoked, or stopping to welcome the memory that comes flitting across the screen of our minds eye—hitting the pause button and allowing that memory to take root and dwell in us. 

Ahh, Memorial Day, such a rich time to remember.  I invite you to allow yourself the luxury of spending time doing so.