A Story to Remember
One morning last week I snuggled up in a blanket on the couch with a warm cup of tea and sat looking at the illuminated Christmas tree. Every ornament on our tree has a story to tell. Some are as old as I am, while others are brand new. Some have been lovingly crafted by hand, while others were purchased from the store. Regardless of where they came from, each year when we unpack them to place on the tree, we recount the memories behind each one.
We think back on our first Christmas being married. We smile at each of the Baby’s First Christmas ornaments. We remember Christmas parties where ornaments were swapped, and family traditions of a new Hallmark ornament each year. We retell funny stories from decades past - like when the baby thought his big brother’s ice cream cone ornament was a snack and chomped into it leaving a permanent hole. That ornament is given a place of prominence every year!
I love tradition and stories. I love the beauty that comes from remembering. Yet, not every memory is easy. There have been hard years - a baby we never got to hold, job stress, ministry crisis, chronic pain, and more. There are no ornaments for those losses and struggles, and yet they are not forgotten but rather intertwined in the remembering.
This month we’ve been asking questions and remembering truths from scripture. We’ve talked about Noah and Abraham and the covenants God made with them. We may continue on with some of the other covenants in weeks to come, but this week I want us to pause and meditate on scripture. To reflect on the goodness of God despite the hard times. To recall the faithfulness of Jesus for all time.
When I think of meditation I do not consider it to be passive. It is an active way of mulling over what we have read. To interact with the text as we think about it throughout the day and possibly for days to come.
To do this it can be helpful to commit passages of scripture to memory so they are readily available for you to pull up in your mind and ponder. But you can also easily re-read the passages throughout the day to help refresh your memory. There is no formula, it is more about figuring out what helps you to consider God’s word beyond the first reading.
What will help you to think about it again later, to mull it over, to marinate in it until it transforms you?
If meditating on God’s word isn’t a part of your regular rhythm of Bible reading, I’d encourage you to consider what it would take to add it to your day. It is not uncommon to find things written on our mirrors at home - things we want to remember, questions we are pondering, etc. This can be a great place to jot down your ideas each time you are in the room. You could also use your notes app on your phone, or a notebook. Really anything. Whatever feels user-friendly for you as you find ways to think about scripture all throughout your day.
Here are some verses to meditate on this week. Of course, feel free to choose whatever parts of scripture you are currently reading.
Isaiah 9:6-7
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on his shoulders; and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Colossians 1:15-19
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Just as we take time to remember the stories of our lives, it is also wise for us to take time to remember the faithfulness of God through all generations. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
This Christmas, I pray you will remember that no matter what is happening in your story right now, you are seen, known, and loved.
Merry Christmas ~ Melissa