Hand writing—literally
We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders. — Psalm 78:4 NLT
In the quieter days of my life, I remember thinking I could actually remember appointments, events, even birthdays. And I usually did.
[Oh, wait. I’m sorry, what was I just saying? I don’t remember.]
Right. Remembering. That was then. This is now. Kindhearted Judy, the anchor and lifeforce of the church office, says I forget a lot because I have a lot of things on my mind.
It turns out, I often have a lot of things on my hand, too. A lefty, I use the side of my right hand in the area around my thumb and index finger as my semi-permanent note station. I write all sorts of things on my own message board which, unlike any piece of paper, including poster board, I don’t lose.
Asaph, the author of Psalm 78, may never have used a Sharpie on his hand when inspiration struck about this psalm while he away from his writing station, but, like all of us, he must have searched for something important that had disappeared. Like us too, his memory must have failed him sometimes. This made him the perfect author for this text.
We are also perfect authors in that we all forget. We are passing onto the next generation our imperfect faith which is fraught with our wrong turns and foiled in our goofs.
While we want to present ourselves as unmarred, pious, torch-caring Christians to the next generation (as in wow, don’t we look good and you should follow us because we look so good), here’s the truth: in all our screw ups, bad parenting moments, petty grievances, wobbly theology, missteps, and stupid fights, we find what Asaph found, which is power and mighty wonders are not in us but in God.
And that’s something to write about on a Post-It, sticky note, notepad, smart phone, scrap paper or, if you’re like me, your own hand.
PRAYER: A truth we should not hide from the next generation is that we do forget, dear Lord. Thank you that we actually forget sometimes, because it helps us find you anew. Amen.
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