Chaplain's Corner

Back in 1973 Barbara Streisand popularized the Marvin Hamlisch song “The Way We Were”. The song reflects on memories: “Mem’ries light the corners of my mind, misty water-colored mem’ries of the way we were. Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind, smiles we gave to one another for the way we were. Can it be that it was all so simple then or has time rewritten every line? If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we, could we. Mem’ries may be beautiful and yet what’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget. So it’s the laughter we will remember whenever we remember the way we were.”

It’s too bad it’s not that easy – simply choosing to forget unpleasant memories. In my experience the memories I would rather forget I can’t and many of the ones I wish I could, have slipped away. Trauma has a way of etching memories of those difficult events on our minds. In some cases, a clear memory of the details of the event are obscured by psychological defenses but even when we cannot recall the details of the painful event, our bodies do and details of the event, seemingly insignificant ones: like a smell, or a sound can trigger a reaction that is directly connected to that event.

The memory is a marvelous mechanism of our mind. Scientists have studied it and much understanding has come through their studies. But my reflection is not scientific, but spiritual. Some say that when you lose your memories, for instance due to Alzheimer ‘s disease, that you lose yourself. Others reflect on this common reality and suggest that Alzheimer’s is like regression, for it peals back and discards all that we have learned and experienced and delivers us to a condition in its final stages like infancy, totally dependent and unaware of all that has gone before.

As we stand at the beginning of a new year we have accumulated another year’s worth of memories. The memories are about the mundane and the personally significant. Some of us have better memories than others. My wife has an astounding memory whereas I often have trouble remembering what I did during the day as I try to update my records for my monthly reports. Some of last year’s memories will be life changing, for it is not simply the event that changes our lives, it is the memory and the rehearsing of the event that begins to alter our view of life, our sense of security, our feelings of being loved or hated and so much more.

When the Scriptures encourage us to meditate, it is an encouragement to engage in an activity that supports our memory of God’s goodness and love. Unlike eastern meditation techniques that urge one to “empty their mind” meditation as it is taught in the Bible urges us to fill our minds with the memories of God’s wonderful works.

To a certain extent we can chose what we will remember. As you think back over 2016, what are you remembering? Are you remembering all the setbacks and heartaches and miserable events of the year? Why not chose to meditate on the great things the Lord has done in your life, what he has done for others, what he has promised to do for us in the days ahead. As we rehearse those memories over and over again, God will soften the blows of the negative events and those great things He has done will take on more meaning and more space in your memory, encouraging you and strengthening you instead of the impact of negative memories: discouragement and a tendency to think and act like victims.

Memories, the mental scrapbooks of our lives. What will you be putting in your mental scrapbook for 2016?