Now where did I put my keys?

Do you remember a song titled: “Try To Remember”? Sung by The Brothers Four? In 1965! “try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow…” How many years ago was that? Yes, that many! Where were you in 1965 and what were you doing? Work at it.

Memory loss is a topic of conversation in my social circles these days. It was not in 1965. In those days my memory was intact and strong. The edges of life were crisp and sharply defined. Now, I sometimes have trouble remembering the name of that place we visited in 1992, or the number of the highway that runs through Corsicana, Texas, or the name of that guy in the Navy who showed me the ropes. I can’t remember the ropes, either. Time has a way of refocusing reality, and sometimes the picture is out of focus. But there is another factor that distorts memory, even obliterates it. Prosperity. You might remember the rather inelegant phrase: “fat, dumb and happy.” It could have been “fat, numb and happy.” It has been my experience that “the good life,” relative prosperity, numbs the brain and redefines old realities. And that’s not a recent development. Pull out your Bible, if you can remember where it is, and spend a minute with Deuteronomy 8:11 and following verses. Here are a few bits of that passage: “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God…when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” led you through tough times, fed you in the wildernesses of your life.

Memories begin to change when the human body ages. I get that and I agree. But I assure you that being who we are, in the age in which we live, in the circumstances of our lives, comfort and prosperity work the same dark magic. Losing your keys is one thing, but losing touch with the Source of who you are is quite another. Remember daily. Say “thank you.” Never forget.