Your
job and mine, as memoirists, is to serve as “a hand pointing in the direction
of the past.”
But
here at SM 101, we do more than that. We do more than tell stories from the
past.
Here
we dig deep within those stories to discover what God has done for us—stories
about His constant companionship each day, each year.
The
beauty of memoir is looking back, examining, and discovering significance we
might have missed at the time.
So
now, at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, it’s good for us to reflect
on the past twelve months because too often we don’t take time to recognize
that, in the words of dear old Samuel, “The Lord has helped us every step of
the way” (1 Samuel 7:12, NIRV).
Back
in the 1800s, C. H. Spurgeon pondered that same verse in The King James
Version: “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
He
wrote:
“The
word ‘hitherto’ seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty
years or seventy, and yet ‘hitherto hath the Lord helped us!’”
Or,
in today’s language, “Whether twenty years old or seventy, ‘the Lord has helped
us every step of the way.’”
Spurgeon
continues,
“Through
poverty,
through
wealth,
through
sickness,
through
health;
at
home,
abroad,
on
the land,
on
the sea;
in
honor,
in
dishonor,
in
perplexity,
in
joy,
in
trial,
in
triumph,
in
prayer,
in
temptation,
—‘hitherto
hath the Lord helped!’”
If
we invest time in looking over Spurgeon’s list in light of our own past, we’ll
see that every day, in each event, even in the worst of times, God has always
hovered in our midst, working out His best plans.
For
now, jot down a list, make a few notes, and promise yourself—and your family,
and God—you’ll write those stories in 2015!
Each
story is worthy of being told.
Each
child and grandchild—niece, nephew, and “spiritual child”—needs to know your
stories.
Each
story can be a celebration of what God has done.
Always
remember, and never forget,
what
you’ve seen God do for you,
and
be sure to tell your children and grandchildren!
(Deuteronomy
4:9)
reposted
from December 31, 2011
Related posts:
Your stories: Not because of who you are, but because of who God is
What’s your memoir’s ultimate purpose?
