It Is What It Is

I took a walk down Memory Lane the other day, lovely walk, beautiful walk, down Memory Lane and I got lost and couldn’t find my way home. It happens, maybe to you, too. I must admit, and perhaps I’ve said this before, I don’t remember…I must admit that I’ve been lost in some wonderful places. I would go back in a heartbeat, if I could remember where they were. Fortunately, I married a woman who has a built in GPS program and a memory that shows no signs of becoming brittle. I’m reminded of her amazing recall when I happen to hear her in conversation with a friend: “O, I remember that. There’s a little cafe with a red roof on the corner where you make the turn. It opens at 7 a.m. but across the street, next to the gas station, there’s another little cafe that opens at 6. We were there 20 years so and I remember it like it was yesterday. Ask for Sarah, by the way; she’s a wonderful waitress.”

Sometimes I forget to take my daily dosage of meds, or return the email that came in the middle of a conversation I had with someone about something that must have been important, or the recorded phone message that says: “I’ll call you right back.” My definition of “right back” is very generous.

But I amaze myself almost daily by praying The Lord’s Prayer; I don’t miss a word, or reciting the Apostles” Creed, or singing one old hymn after another; I know the words. They are etched in my memory. Now, why those things? And the answer is “repetition.” After you’ve sung Amazing Grace 976 times, you know it. I just made up that number, 976; I don’t remember. It was a lot, though.

Time for the good news: I may forget appointments, phone calls to make or return, or even the little cafe on an obscure corner in a small town near Waxahachie, TX; yes, I may forget but I am not forgotten. I am remembered by the God of my ancestors, by that great cloud of witnesses, by The Christ who keeps dropping in to say “Hello” and by The Holy Spirit who moved into my heart and mind a long time ago. In fact, that Spirit just told me that I’ve written enough and should stop. It’s so good to have a friend like The Holy Spirit who is loving, caring, and speaks truth all the time. Maybe you know The Spirit, too.

So, I’m stopping. I’m going to take a walk on a lovely pathway near our home. I’ve enjoyed it so many times, and now that the air is cooling even a little bit, the walk will be wonder-filled. “Hey, honey: how do you get to that trailhead?” By the way, I meant to mention that you are loved, too, by the same Creator, the same Christ, the same Spirit. Sorry, I forgot. You are.