Visit the Room Called Remember

 

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm of the Old Testament. It is a song of memory. The Psalm serves as a reminder of what God has done. In remembering what God has done, you know what God will do. The Psalmist remembers the presence of God through the experience of "law" which translates into the sense of order. God's presence seems to make sense out of life. All of life's good things are framed by this concept of law.

As a youth growing up in First UMC, Minden there was a time when life seemed to take a turn for the best. Life and the best of life was "framed" by a concept of mission. For several years, our youth group did the theme park trips. They were fun but were soon and very soon over. Then Coach Carlisle came as our summer youth director. He convinced us that life was better framed by the concept of service. Instead of the artificial theme parks, we took a mission trip and helped small Indian churches in Oklahoma rebuild their physical plants. I took this philosophy with me when I began working with youth in my churches. Our youth at one of my churches spent a week in Mobile AL doing a Vacation Bible School for inner city kids. One evening we visited an African American United Methodist Church service where I experienced remembering in prayer.

At one point in the service, a group of men helped an elderly African American pastor to the podium to pray—and pray he did! His prayer was a room of remembering. This pastor prayed of deliverance –past, present, and future. It was obvious that he and the Lord were on a first name basis. In all my years of ministry I confess that it was one of the most powerful prayer experiences I have had. Why? Because he remembered and shared that memory in a prayer.

Frederick Beuchner has a book entitled, "A Room Called Remember." In this book, he invites us into the room of memory where we can experience joy and sorrow. In Remember, you can find a key to open the future and a place to calm the soul. For when God created humanity, God gave us the wonderful gift of memory. God invites us to use this gift to know God's presence and God's power—God's order of life and life everlasting.

I believe each of us should remember. The room called Remember is not to entomb life, but to give life! We remember not to preserve the past or to ignore the future. We remember to treasure and to trust. Life then takes on a new "frame".

Pray for me as I pray for you.