I have believed, since my 30s, that one can have a “senior moment” at any age. I know this to be true because I’ve had plenty of examples in my own life since those days.
We’ve all experienced that, right? Often, we just have too much going on to manage it effectively, whether we’re a busy mom or a busy executive or a busy ministry worker.
“What’s her name?” “What was the name of the movie that starred what’s his name?” “What’s the word I’m thinking of that would be a perfect description.” “Where did I put my keys/phone/planner/laundry/dog …?” And on and on.
And who among us hasn’t started a thought only to find (perhaps because we detoured down a rabbit trail…) that we forgot the point we wanted to make in the first place. Even Flo with Progressive Insurance has had issues with this, if you believe their latest commercial.
So, chalk all those up to normal brain function. Most of the time, we have not lost it!
However, as you reach that magical “certain age,” and you find those occurrences increasing, does it become a little more concerning?
I’m quite sure I have reached that age and, because dementia runs on my mom’s side of the family, more frequent memory hiccups can understandably cause a bit of worry.
To be clear, I don’t have major issues. It’s more the irritating kinds of memory lapses. More of, “Where was I going with that idea?” or “What was I going to look up?” or “What was the great blog idea I just got?”
And when someone would attempt to ease my concern by saying, “Oh, I’m sure it’ll come back to you,” my general response has been, “Nope, they don’t usually come back anymore!”
I had mostly resigned myself to the fact that this was going to become more and more frequent as I kept circling the sun one more year.
And then this simple, and yet powerful, idea hit me.
Why don’t I ask God to bring to my mind what I forget!
It was a “duh” moment for me! Of course, God knows exactly where I was going with that idea. He knows exactly where I misplaced something. He knows the names of every person, thing, idea or word that I can’t recall.
Sure, I have asked God to help me find things I’ve misplaced before, but I’ve never taken that next step to help me remember what my feeble mind can’t hang onto.
I’ve been bringing God into this picture for months now and I am pleased to report to you all that it works! Not 100% of the time, but in almost all cases, the exact thought I feared was long gone, suddenly lands back in my consciousness.
I had to ask myself, “What took me so long to bring God into these circumstances?”
I don’t have a good answer for that, other than it just didn’t occur to me.
It’s not that I think God doesn’t care about the details of my life. It’s not that I think he’s too busy to bother with these irritations. It’s not that God isn’t an ever-present part of my daily life already.
I just didn’t take it to this next step. I had resigned myself to the belief that this is just a part of getting older.
Let’s be careful not to make God into that magical genie who answers every single major or minor request in our lives. That’s not how he works.
But I do believe God puts a strong emphasis on “remembering” as we see so often in the Bible. He constantly exhorted his people Israel to “remember when.” So, I’m taking a huge non-theological leap to acknowledge that God often wants me to remember what I’ve forgotten!
The lesson here isn’t just about asking God to bring to mind what has flown away. (Although, I would encourage you to give it a try.)
The lesson is a reminder to bring God, with all his great knowledge and sovereignty, into your daily life. Especially those areas where you haven’t considered extending an invitation to him.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
Psalm 77:11
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