“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”

C.S. Lewis

Exactly 365 days ago, my feet, having just finally been accustomed to the cobblestone streets of Europe, anxiously awaited behind a sealed glass door in the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport of Little Rock. My eyes rolled with something between annoyance and desperation, as I so longingly wished to sprint to my family waiting on the other side.

You see, after nearly a month of seeing the history I’d read in text books come to life and eating nothing short of what can only be described as one scrumptious meal after the next, I, who even as a brown eyed little boy thrived on long road trips in our van, was never so ready to be home.

It wasn’t the five to seven-mile days that made me ready to cozy up in our house on the corner or even the absence of Mexican food (which if you know me well, you know is significant). In fact, what it was that kept me tapping my foot on the other side of that glass door, now doesn’t even seem important at all. At the time, however, I just wanted to be safely surrounded by my family and vent my concerns. So, why mention it? Because, for a while, I let one deterring factor of my trip poison the cherished memories that far outweighed it. I let a negative combine with a positive, creating a neutral feeling for what was really the most memorable month of my life, thus far.

Just a week ago, sitting next to one of my best friends, I started to remember. I could taste the lasagna that made Italy amazing. I could hear “La Vie En Rose” when picturing the Eiffel Tower sparkle. And I could feel the wind hit my cheeks at the White Cliffs of Dover. I began reliving it all, as one memory after the other ran through the best slide show I’ve ever seen in the back of my mind.

Most importantly, I forgot. I forgot what needed to be forgotten. I let go of what I needed to say goodbye to. Then, I grabbed hold of what made a smile rise within me and purposefully decided not to let go.

Though I wish I could sit down and write about the breathtaking sights and unique experiences, I can’t, because I want this blog to be more than my journal. I want it to be inspirational for both me and you (which might be why, it’s taken me four months to get this second post written).

So, listen up! I have lots to say, and Ethan, I’m mostly speaking to you!

It’s time that we as Christians choose to wake up every single morning and REMEMBER. After the alarm goes off, acknowledge the fact that you’ve woken up and God has let you live another day. If someone special is lying next to you, roll over, give them a kiss and thank the King of Kings that He let you both face another day in the world He created to be your home. However, also remember that He doesn’t intend for this to be your home forever, and in fact, He already has a place prepared just for you. “Count your blessings, name them one by one” and make sure that at the top of the list is your salvation that the God of the universe died on a wooden cross for.

If you remember enough, it will start to reflect in your living. We live like broken, inept, miserable people, because we’ve forgotten where our strength and sustainability are found.

At the beginning of this year, I started reading “New Morning Mercies.” While, of course, I haven’t been perfectly persistent, the author, Paul David Tripp, makes an irrevocable point in the introduction that he backs up throughout the daily devotional. He suggests that much, if not all, of our sin stems from forgetfulness. We forget who God is and what He has done for us. We question everything because we’ve forgotten who holds the answers. He says that he wrote “New Morning Mercies” as “a call to remember the horrible disaster of sin. It’s a call to remember Jesus, who stood in our place. It’s a call to remember the righteousness that is His gift. It’s a call to remember the transforming power of the grace you and I couldn’t have earned. It’s a call to remember the destiny that is guaranteed to all of God’s blood-purchased children. It’s a call to remember His sovereignty and His glory. It’s a call to remember that remembering is spiritual war; even for this we need grace.”

While I’ve often failed, this has inspired me to pray to remember. We live in a world that can only be described as chaotic, and so often, it is all we can do just to recall what must be done that day, much less remember all that Jesus has done, is doing and will do. Therefore, we must make remembering a priority. We have to do this. There isn’t another option.

My question for us is what are we forgetting and what do we need to remember? Are we forgetting that our God can perform healing miracles? Do we need to remember that He raised Lazarus from the dead? Are we forgetting that our God is always with us? Do we need to remember how He faithfully stood by, protected, cared for and delivered the Israelites, even when they failed miserably? Are we forgetting that sin is what stands between us and glory? Do we need to remember the cost that had to be paid with the Lamb’s sacrifice?

Whatever it is or may be for you or me, don’t you think it’s finally time for us to start remembering? I don’t know about you, but I want to relish in the fact that the Lord who stood before time itself has always known my name and had a plan for me. I want to bask in His splendor and live in the light of His redeeming grace. I want to extinguish the lies of anxieties and insecurities whispered by the enemy with the living water Jesus gave me freely.

So, here’s to doing just that. Here’s to setting reminders on my phone to open up and study my Bible through and through, so I can remember God’s works and promises. Here’s to keeping a journal of all that God has done for me and those around me. And here’s to constantly praying that the Lord reminds me not only who I am and was made to be, but more importantly, who He is and will always be.

“Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with your majesty. From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have established a stronghold on account of your adversaries in order to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him? You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!”

Psalms‬ ‭8:1-9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Hanging up till next time!

-Ethan Dial.