Saturday, October 15, 2016

Dear God,

Your call to remember is a powerful one.  You call us to remember your love given so many times, especially one great time.  You call us to remember your forgiveness given when we could no longer carry our burdens, shortcomings, and sin.  You call us to remember your mercy, that peace that came when all the world's voices filled us with chaos, frustration, and fear.  You call us to remember those quiet walks we took when we were confused and doubting,  You call us to remember moments of trust when we followed you and found answers to our greatest questions.  You call us to remember the waiting times when you challenged us to deeper faith, mustered courage, and greater strength.

As three generations made their way to South Carolina, my daughter, granddaughters, and I, we remembered stories of our lives, some serious but more funny and silly.  We laughed and laughed allowing the laugher to deepen our relationship and love for one another.  All the time I was giving thanks for the hard times that we overcame with your help.  We remembered shared experiences where love, trust, and faith helped us overcome great fear.  I remembered with great joy each of their births, especially one who was conceived when her mother had ovarian cancer and weeks later had successful surgery to rid the cancer once and for all.  I remembered the day of her birth because she came with 10 fingers and 10 toes, a fully-formed beautiful body, and everything working perfectly.  I remembered your amazing compassion and mercy during the long wait.

Your call to remember is not only a powerful one; it is a merciful one because it feeds us when we are lonely, lost, perplexed, distressed, and worn.  Your call to remember is a call to be loved.

Holy and Merciful God,
thank you
for the blessings
of faith,
for the call
to remember,
to be saturated
with mercy,
and to add
to our storage
the resources
given freely
to walk
the sometimes difficult path.
Thank you
for the joy
that comes
with remembering.
Thank you
for peace
that sweeps
over us
when we
are anything
but peaceful.
Thank you,
most of all,
for remembering us.

Love, Andrea