iCrucified

Short Term Memory… or Stay Close to the Grill

This might not be the best title for this thought, but it seems close enough to work.

I forget stuff. I still know the things I forget, but I need reminded every so often that the things I have forgotten are moved back to my frontal lobes and immediate memory. I don’t know enough about the brain to say it really works that way, but it makes sense to my way of understanding. Oh, anyway, I forget stuff—stuff that I still know—I just need reminded that I know the stuff I’ve forgotten.

Take for instance, teaching from the Bible. Many Christians are very knowledgeable about the Bible and practice its teachings faithfully, especially while life is running smoothly. We have a fairly good memory of God’s teaching to us while life is unharried and we’re often quick to offer “faith nuggets” to those in need when they suffer short-term memory loss due to the pressures of life. I personally identify with these examples. Sometimes I succumb to an annoying season of life and begin to spin into doldrums where I’m smitten with frustration and disappointment. I’m cruising along in my dark shuffle when I will hear or read something that reminds me of the promise of God’s word and I am immediately lifted out of the shuffling dark to the dancing light. And I say; “I knew that.” And I wonder why I forgot it in the first place.

I remember times when I’ve gone to a county fair or town carnival. There’s always tons of stuff going on with rides, midway games, and all types of neat things to eat. It’s almost some sort of sensory overload when you walk onsite of one of these events… lights, sounds, tastes, and smells. Walking around ground level at these fairs, it’s hard to distinguish where sounds and smells come from and you get lost in one to another. I would be walking along and catch a whiff of popcorn or cotton candy… grilled sausage or charbroiled burger. All of the sudden I’m overtaken with desire wanting the thing I smell so vividly; I’m captured, consumed with want and hunger—until I walk around the corner and a new sight and sound overtakes me. I forget about the burger because a “carnival barker” invites me to test my strength or challenge my fears. Life can be like that too. I get pressured with stuff and distracted by the moment and forget the things I “know” and I need to be reminded. Like the carnival.

If I want that great smelling burger, I can’t be walking around being distracted by the other noises and smells. I need to stay close to the grill. I believe remembering God’s promises might be similar. Life’s distractions are many and every day. If I don’t want to be pulled from God’s truths, I need to stay close to His grill… I mean word.