How can you retrieve your faded memories?

 

Writing your memoir can surprise you by bringing past events into a new light. As you make time to remember and ponder, new insights into old experiences will surface. Puzzle pieces will fall into place.

 

Frederick Buechner explains what he discovered when he penned his personal stories in The Sacred Journey and Now and Then.

"They gave me more of a sense than I had ever had before of how as far back as I could remember things had been stirring in my life that I was all but totally unaware of at the time.

"If anybody had predicted when I was an undergraduate at Princeton that I was going to be ordained as a minister ten years after graduation, I think I would have been flabbergasted.

"Yet as I wrote . . . I found myself remembering small events as far back as early childhood which were even then leading me in something like a direction but so subtly and almost imperceptibly that it wasn't until decades had passed that I saw them for what they were. . . .

"The events were often so small that I was surprised to remember them, yet they turned out to have been road markers on a journey I didn't even know I was taking.

"The people involved in them were often people I had never thought of as having played particularly significant roles in my life yet looking back at them I saw that, for me, they had been life-givers, saints." (Frederick Buechner, Originally published in Telling Secrets)

God longs for us to remember what He has done (Psalm 105:5), but we so easily forget!

 

Memories are vital components of memoirs, so how can we retrieve the faded ones?

 

If you kept a journal in the past, you have a treasure. It will be packed with events and details and personal insights that you might have forgotten over the years.

 

Old letters—that you wrote or received—can also help remember significant events and people.

 

Look through your Bible, devotionals, or Bible study materials. If you’re like me, you’ve jotted memories and dates in the margins.

 

Some people print and save special emails they’ve sent or received.

 

Here’s another idea to help you retrieve your memories of a key place: Sketch a floor plan and/or the neighborhood. Maybe you’re writing about your childhood home or about Boy Scout camp. Or maybe you’re writing about an office building in a bustling city. Sketching that place will help remember details.

 

While you draw, memories will bubble up and percolate.

 

Don’t believe me? Give it a try! As you sketch, jot down notes about who was with you and what significant events took place there.

 

But that’s just the beginning!

 

Memoirists go beyond remembering the past. Memoirists search for significance. Relevance.

 

Pondering, unraveling, piecing together, reflecting—all are necessary ingredients in memoirs. Tell readers what you now see, in retrospect. Look for deeper meanings and connections, as Frederick Buechner did, above.

 

Looking back, what did you learn about yourself?

 

What patterns did you discover that you hadn’t noticed before?

 

How did the place and people shape your life? And prepare you for your future?

 

Maybe, like Buechner, you'll notice that you'd been on a journey you didn't even realize you were taking.

What was God doing? What did you learn about Him? Like Frederick Buechner, did you discover God’s purpose for your life?

 

When you pull your memories out of hibernation, give yourself plenty of time to examine them and answer the above questions.

 

Look for relevance you might have missed in the past.

Search for profound lessons you learned.

Notice defining moments and turning points.

Make time to discover insights.

Identify healing and blessings that were there all along.

Uncover your richer, higher, deeper, wider story.

And then share it with others.

What can your Bible’s pages help you remember?

Which verses in your Bible have you underlined or highlighted? Look over a few and ask yourself why those are special to you.

Try to remember: Why and how did they speak to your heart? During which event or era were those verses your delight? Or your instruction? Or your only hope?

God longs for us to remember the amazing things He has done (Psalm 105:5), but too often we forget.

Mike Metzger writes,

“Many churches have forgotten the premium

that the historic Judeo-Christian tradition placed on remembrance . . .

and recalling the right things.

The ‘great sin’ of the Old Testament

was forgetfulness

(at least it’s the most recurrent offense).

‘Remember’ is the most frequent command

in the Old Testament.”

(Mike Metzger, Clapham Memo, 

January 19, 2007, “Back and Forth”)

Look through your Bible and notice the Bible verses you cherished in the past, and remember those verses that changed your life, passages you held onto in dark times, verses that made you fall down in worship—and those that buoyed you in your everyday happenings.

Stories that go with those verses could provide good material for your memoir.

One day I spent half an hour looking through an old Bible, one I used from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. Reading underlined passages sent me back to the ministries I had during those years, and to specific locales, and they reminded me of people and issues and heartbreaks and joys.

Reading them again also reminded me God was always there in the midst, working out His best, even if I didn’t know it at the time.

Below are a few of the verses highlighted in my old Bible. Perhaps in reading them, you, too, will discover story ideas of your own.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

Above all else, guard your heart. . . . (Proverbs 4:23)

All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. . . . I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God. (Psalm 38:9, 15)

Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind. (Psalm 25:2)

God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. (Genesis 41:52)

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done. . . . (Genesis 50:20)

You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light shine . . . . (Matthew 5:14, 16)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I have seen the misery of my people. . . .  I have heard them crying. . . . I am concerned about their suffering. . . . I have come down to rescue them. (Exodus 3:7-8)

When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped. (Exodus 4:31)

Now you will see what I will do. . . . Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. (Exodus 6:1-7)

The Lord kept vigil that night. . . . (Exodus 12:42)

I will sing to the Lord,

for he is highly exalted. . . .

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him. 

(Exodus 15:1-2)

I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. (Exodus 19:4)

In all things God works for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28)

Therefore, I urge you . . . in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:1-2)

Denise Beck writes that when she takes her Bible’s crinkled pages and spends quiet time alone with God, “He meets me in a new way. He teaches me and transforms me, and those places and spaces are heavy with the stories He showed me. Stories of who He is. Stories of who I am.  Stories of who I am in Him.”

Take a few days to go through your Bible

and find passages you cherish,

verses that changed you,

verses that helped you make decisions,

passages you held onto in dark times,

verses that made you bow down in worship.

Include verses that nurtured you

through your everyday routines

and those that delighted you with joy.

Then write your stories—

stories of who He is, who you are,

and who you are in Him.

Celebrating God’s fingerprints

Here at Spiritual Memoirs 101, we recognize the value of writing our stories for our kids, grandkids, great-grands, nieces, nephews, "spiritual children," and other important people in our lives.

Writing a memoir is so much more than just telling stories, spinning yarns, and passing on tales from the past.

We memoirists dig deep to discover what God has done for us—in us, through us—
every day,
every step of the way,
in the best of times and the worst of times.

The digging, probing, and questioning can be beautiful—well, at least the result can be beautiful.

The examining, reflecting, and unraveling help us discover significance we probably missed earlier, and that can be life-changing for the memoir writer as well as for the readers.

Writing a memoir is a holy work. 

It’s a ministry.

Jesus said,

“Go tell your family everything God has done for you.”

Luke 8:39

Tell everybody about the amazing things God does.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise!

1 Chronicles 16:24-25a

Writing a memoir is our "Yes!" to God in what He tells us all to do.

Memoirists have the privilege of working with sacred stories. We get to remember God's marvelous works (Psalm 105:5) and tell the next generations about God's power and involvement in our lives and our families' lives (Psalm 145:4).

Writing a memoir does not require that we have supernatural, astonishing stories that would make the evening news and get tweeted around the world.

Mostly we write about everyday events and ordinary people.

Our job is to notice God in the midst of our gatherings and activities and responsibilities and relationships and homes.

Our goal is to detect God's fingerprints and footprints all over the place.

We avoid being preachy and holier-than-thou.  We eliminate everything that suggests: "Too bad you can't be like me."

And we avoid Christianeze jargon.

Our stories need not be dry and boring. They can and should include charm and humor and adventure and intrigue. Our stores must be winsome and fascinating to read.

We need to remind ourselves what a memoir is—and what it is not.

Write your memoir as a celebration of God

in all His goodness

and faithfulness

and majesty.

Remember!

This is one of the saddest passages in the Bible:

They believed His words;

They sang His praises.

They soon forgot His works.

 Psalm 106:12-13

God has told us many times to remember all we’ve seen Him do and to tell our children and grandchildren (Deuteronomy 4:9), and yet:

“Many churches have forgotten

the premium that the historic Judeo-Christian tradition

placed on remembrance …

and recalling the right things.

The ‘great sin’ of the Old Testament

was forgetfulness

(at least it is the most recurrent offense).

‘Remember’ is the most frequent command

in the Old Testament.”

(Clapham Memo, January 19, 2007,

“Back and Forth,” by Mike Metzger; emphasis mine)

Memoirists have a great honor, a high privilege: We get to “Remember His marvelous works which He has done (Psalm 105:5).

Memoirists have the joy of putting into words what we’ve seen God do. I’m not talking about supernatural events that would get tweeted around the world—though such noteworthy things happen sometimes. No, mostly we write about everyday events because most of us are ordinary people living ordinary lives—yet God is in the midst of our everyday lives, working out His best for us, blessing us, working out His ultimate purposes.

“Almighty God,

You are a very present help in trouble.

Today, I want to remember all the times

You have helped me in trouble.

I am quick to cry out to You for help,

but I am slow to remember the countless times

You intervened to meet my deepest needs.

Especially I remember _______ and _______.

Thank You, Lord.”  

(Lloyd John Ogilvie, Quiet Moments with God; 

emphasis mine)

Remembering takes time. Remembering requires commitment. Be intentional. Carve out times and quiet places that will give you opportunities to remember, and be sure to have pencil and paper with you.

Remembering, rediscovering, what God has done—and connecting the dots—will knock your socks off. You’ll be more blessed than you can imagine.

Related post: Gathering Up your memories

Your memories: How can you retrieve them for your memoir?

God’s heart longs for us to remember the marvelous things He has done (Psalm 105:5), but we tend to forget. (See Saturday’s blog post* if you missed it.)

Memories are vital components of memoirs, so how can we retrieve the faded ones?

In addition to Saturday’s suggestions,* sketch a house floor plan and/or the neighborhood you lived in during an important segment of your life.

While you draw, memories will bubble up and percolate.

Don’t believe me? Give it a try! While you sketch, make notes to yourself about experiences and people intertwined with those memories.

For example, here’s my neighborhood from age three to eight. While I worked on it, memories surfaced and I penciled them in around the edges.

Not every memory will result in a vignette for your memoir, but the exercise helps you step back in time and remember many things you forgot.

But that is just the beginning!

This is very important: In Spiritual Memoirs 101, we go beyond digging up memories. Within our memories, we search for greater treasures: what God was doing in and for and through us at the time.

Let’s review elements of memoir:

Pondering, examining, unraveling, musing, and reflecting are necessary ingredients in memoirs. In the writing process, examine what God was doing—as you see it now, in retrospect. Look for deeper lessons God had for you in the events of your life.

Looking back, what did you learn about yourself?

What patterns in your faith did you discover that you hadn’t noticed before?

What did you learn about God?

Do you now have a better understanding of God’s purpose for your life?

How did the experience change your life? What new person did you become?

How did the experience strengthen your faith for future challenges?

When your memories come out of hibernation, give yourself plenty of time to examine them and ask yourself the above questions.

I suspect that in many cases, you’ll be surprised to discover God has been more involved in your life than you recognized.

Remember! Then, write your stories!

P.S. Be sure to look over the blogs and other resources

I’ve posted for you in the right column.

*Related post:

Gathering up your memories, http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/09/gathering-up-your-memories.html

Gathering up your memories

Amy Carmichael died sixty years ago but, because she made time to write, her words still touch many of us.

Her words sound old fashioned, but they contain wisdom we can apply to our memoirs:

Psalm 106:12–13 They believed His words;

                         They sang His praises.

                         They soon forgot His works.  

Have you ever known a weakening in the inward places of your soul because you had let slip the memory of what your God did in the past? You had believed His words, you had sung His praises, for in very truth you had seen His words fulfilled. And then, somehow, the memory faded, blotted out by a disappointment perhaps, and you “forgat His works.”

. . . May the Lord, by His Spirit, quicken our memories, and help us to do our part by gathering up the forces of memory. It is worthwhile to do anything that will help us to do this. “We will remember Thy love” and all the way the Lord our God has led us [references to Song of Solomon 1:4, Deuteronomy 8:2]. (Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways; emphasis mine)

“Many churches have forgotten the premium that the historic Judeo-Christian tradition placed on remembrance … and recalling the right things. The ‘great sin’ of the Old Testament was forgetfulness (at least it is the most recurrent offense). ‘Remember’ is the most frequent command in the Old Testament.” (Clapham Memo, January 19, 2007, “Back and Forth,” by Mike Metzger; emphasis mine)

God’s heart longs for us to remember the marvelous things He has done (Psalm 105:5) but, like Mike Metzger and Amy Carmichael point out, we tend to forget. What are we to do?

If you’ve kept a journal over the years, you have a treasure. Your journal is an excellent resource for important events and details you might have otherwise forgotten. (To see the difference between journaling and memoir, see memoir definition, below.)

Some of you, or your relatives, have saved old letters and they, too, help you remember.

If you’re like me, you’ve jotted memories in the margins of your Bible and daily devotionals and Bible studies.

Some people print out special e-mails they’ve sent or received.

All these help gather up memories.

Always remember what you’ve seen God do,

and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren!

Deuteronomy 4:9

What important things have you forgotten?

What will you do to reclaim them?

Every time you rediscover a significant occasion you want to include in your memoir, jot down a few sentences, and keep adding events to your list.

Be like Amy Carmichael: Make time to write, and perhaps sixty years from now, others will receive blessing and encouragement from you.

Enjoy the process!

Related post: What is a memoir: http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-is-memoir.html