re-membering

Two hundred thirty-four. That is how many times the Word of God mentions remembering. What is it to remember? May be a bit like the word implies. Re-membering, to member again, to put back into order. One definition for member is the constituent piece of a complex structure. Aren't our lives the complex structure to which this piece, this remembering, is needed?
The other day my youngest and I recalled our family vacation last year with laughter as we pondered the fun adventures of that trip to FL. My husband smiled last night as we reminisced about our anniversary trip to Jamaica and the bonding that the trip brought to our 20 years of marriage. A lump forms in my throat as I remember the sound of my dad's laugh or the way he held my hand on his last day on this earth.
Re-membering. Even the hard memories have a way of membering us back together. Like a puzzle that made no sense until the piece were pulled together to make a picture. It can heal pain in relationships, bond us to others in shared experiences and keep alive those we miss so much.
What will we remember from this season? This spring of 2020 filled with its uncertainties and losses. Will we look back on this season with fondness, remembering the college student now home bonding with siblings. Will we recall the late nights by the fire pit roasting marshmallows  and laughing until our stomachs hurt? Will even the fears of job instability and the grief of the many lost lives cause us to be membered again as we see the hand of God in hindsight?
Remembering matters to God. He calls His people to do it often. Asking them to call to mind His faithfulness, His compassion, His presence. He even demonstrates His own remembering, this One who is never dismembered or forgetful. Yet He re-members so we will see the example, the joy in it and the activity of redemption in even the hardest rememberings.
But the challenge is looking for Him in the moments by giving thanks to the One who never leaves us, the One worth remembering, the One who by His grace remembers you. "It is He who remembered us in our low estate, for His steadfast love endures forever" Psalm 136:23. Let's chose to see His steadfast love in our re-membering.