Hypocrites, Crime Rates, and the NFL Draft: A Lesson in Remembrance

When “practicing” for our home study visits (oh, dear, yes—I felt the need to have rehearsals), Marc and I asked each other questions that we thought our social worker might ask.  The one I anticipated (or feared) the most was this:

What is your spouse’s most annoying trait? 

I wanted to make sure I knew what Marc’s answer would be so that I wouldn't react with shock and anger in front of the social worker. 

Marc’s answer? 

My penchant for picking scabs.

Especially his. 

And, of course, he wanted to know what I thought his most annoying trait was in return. 

My answer?

His inability to remember anything unrelated to football or depressing statistics. 

Seriously. 

He can tell you every single NFL Draft hopeful’s Wonder lick score, and how many people are starving in each third world country.  He can even tell you every Browns draft pick for the last 15 years, as well as the crime rates in the United States’ top 100 most dangerous cities. 

But if you want to know where the peanut butter is, you’re sunk.  Even if I just told him five minutes ago. 

Now, please don’t think poorly of my husband.  He really can’t help it.  And I do believe that he tries his best; he just wasn't born with an instinctual Uterine-shaped tracking device.  And I bring this up only to illustrate how absolutely hypocritical I can be. 

See, just today, I forgot. 

I forgot about God’s goodness.

Psalm 34:8:  Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

I forgot about His Sovereignty.

Psalm 73:28:  But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

I forgot about His Promise to stay with us.

Deuteronomy 31:8: Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.

I forgot about His Presence.

Isaiah 41:10:  Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

I forgot about His Promise to work things for His good.

Romans 8:28:  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

I even forgot about His Love.

John 3:16:  For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

And I forget these things all the time. 

Today, it was a failed international wire transfer that made me forget the characteristics of God. 

The silliest thing is, He had just given me a wonderful reminder not an hour earlier. 

I left our house after lunch with a long list of errands.  The first was to head off to the library to print off some adoption documents and tutoring lesson plans.  We have a printer, but I have been unable to hook it up to our refurbished laptop.  (Hopefully, by the time I post this, that problem has been remedied.) 

Anyways…

I printed my stack of papers and went to the front desk to pay my two dollars and ten cents.  The librarian, a sweet woman who is always very quick to help, apologized for not putting my random papers in order. 

I told her it was okay, that I was printing a little bit of everything—from vocabulary worksheets to adoption forms. 

“Oh!  Are you adopting your little boys?” she asked excitedly. 

“No, we’re adding two girls.” 

She asked me questions for almost twenty minutes, sharing in my excitement and passion.  She told me of her son, who was adopted at age three and who defied so many odds to become a successful adult and a soon-to-be college graduate.  She became enraged as I told her of the conditions in our daughters’ birth country.  And she encouraged me to look past my children’s disabilities and to set my goals and hopes and dreams high so that my children can set theirs high, too. 

I walked away so encouraged. 

Seventy-two minutes later, I was grousing on the phone to my husband because of a wasted hour at the bank, another delay, and three things un-crossed off my to-do list.  (Oh, the terror!) 

I forgot. 

God reminded me several hours later when I received a phone call that not only cleared up some financial concerns but also hit me smack in the face with God’s goodness.

His Sovereignty. 

His Promises. 

His Presence. 

His Love. 

The Bible hosts scores of top rate forgetters.  Possibly the most famous, mainly because they numbered into the millions, were the Israelites. 

Blood.

Frogs.

Gnats.

Flies.

Livestock.

Boils.

Hail.

Locusts.

Darkness.

Death.

Finally, Freedom. 

But the pharaoh changes his mind and comes charging after the Israelites.  Troops,  chariots, and horses come pounding through the dry sand in hot pursuit.

The Israelites are trapped between impassible water and mortal enemies. 

As their vision narrows in on their problem, they forget about the obvious solution:

God. 

Not just any God.

THE God, who JUST got finished sending ten insanely, unnaturally natural signs that showed His great love and mercy for His chosen people.

In Exodus fourteen, the people complain to Moses, saying, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness?  Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt?  Why did you make us leave?”  

(Duh! You were mistreated slaves!) 

And Moses responds, “Don’t be afraid.  Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you.  The Egyptians that you see today will never be seen again.  The Lord himself will fight for you.  You won’t have to lift a finger in your defense!” 

I think my wonderful friend, Lynda, paraphrased Moses best, when she said, “Shut up and get out of the way!  God’s got this!” 

She would know.  She’s walking with her husband through his second battle with cancer.  And the confidence she displays in the Creator and the Savior astounds me.  She has not forgotten.

(Lynda and her husband, Allen)

Thank You, Father, for teaching me, for redeeming my weaknesses and failures through spiritual, life changing victories.  I love you.  Help me to remember. 

Amen. 

Isaiah 46:9:  And do not forget the things I have done throughout history.  For I am God—I alone!  I am God, and there is no one else like me. 

P.S.  An update on the wire transfer…Since our bank could not do it, I was told to try a bigger bank.  I literally drove downtown and pulled into the tallest bank building I could find.  And upon entering, I headed to the first open banker:  A woman who just so happens to speak Russian.  Which is the language in which half of my paperwork happens to be written.   A woman who offered to help us out with our Russian before and after our adoption is made final.  Shut up, Becky, and get out of the way!  GOD’S GOT THIS!