Remember

Do you remember...

When He spoke so clear into your heart, mending the broken pieces and giving you that promise of a long-gone year? Yet you questioned and asked again. 

Do you remember...

When He answered you a second…third…fourth time? Affirming His call. Responding to your doubt. Healing the wounds and restoring your hope. 

Do you remember…

The day He called you to rise up for the first time? The day He gently guided you to take that first step towards a journey that would alter your life forever and spoil you for mundane reality. 

Do you remember…

The day he called you His love, His fair one?

Do you remember...

That bold and terrible walk along the precipice of fear? One step among another, shaky yet determined. A heart that trusts with a mind that questions can often lead to a body doing what it doesn’t want to do, and yet is unable to turn back. 

Do you remember…

The bridge that meant so much more than a fear of the tangible? The bridge that called to be crossed. The chasm between faithlessness and bold trust. And the family of Christ-followers who were there, smiling, cheering, and  encouraging you. The ones who are still here, by your side. Lifting up, exhorting, praying, and coming alongside you. 

Do you remember…

When He called you to come away? When He called you His beloved? With the promise of His presence, you stepped from the recognisable into His arms. You made it. 

And then you left. Forgot. Went home and thanked Him and told everyone about His love for you and for everyone around you. But you turned back to the mundane. Something was off. 

Do you remember…

Knowing that there was something else? Not quite able to lay to rest the longing and wonder, but comfortable in your life that you weren’t ready to start seeking and searching for it. 

Do you remember…

You held your breath and plunged forward? You explained away discontent with fodder like “His will” and “Living for today”. But you knew, didn’t you? Somewhere deep down, you knew that He was raising you up…and out…and you ignored it until He wrapped you in His arms again, lifted you away from the greyscale life, and spoke those words. 

Do you remember…

When He once again brought you from winter to spring? When He called to you from the clefts of the rock.

Do you remember…

When He finally said “GO!” and it didn’t mean what it did before? It meant LEAVE. It meant remove. It meant take a step in the direction that He was pointing and don’t look back. Only take a deep breathe and trust. 

Do you remember…

The windy country road that was your first experience living in the new? The beauty of the landscape, but the tumult that was inside you. The excitement, wonder, pain, and confusion. The change and the consistent. The confidence and the hesitancy. 

Do you remember…

The bridge that brought the fear back? The one that took your breath away…and your ability to move. The shaky legs and shortness of breath. The one that once again called to be crossed. To journey with Him again from the unknown into His will. 

Do you remember…

What you found on the other side? What you are continually finding? 

Oh, please remember. 

Recall it as with Ebenezer. Lock it in your heart and write it in your memory. Tell it to as many people that they would be able to share it with you when your memory becomes grey. 

Oh, please remember. 

You are new and whole. You are revived and refreshed. You are loved and beloved. You are made in His image and He has renewed your soul. 

Oh, please remember. 

The good and the bad. Set it in your heart and your mind. Because if you don’t remember, I won’t remember. If you don’t recall, I won’t recall. For you are me; and we are being made perfect in His image. 

Oh, please remember. 

My beloved spoke, and said to me: 

"Rise up, my love, my fair one, 

And come away. 

For lo, the winter is past, 

The rain is over and gone. 

The flowers appear on the earth; 

The time of singing has come, 

And the voice of the turtledove 

Is heard in our land. 

The fig tree puts forth her green figs, 

And the vines with the tender grapes 

Give a good smell. 

Rise up, my love, my fair one, 

And come away! 

O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, 

In the secret places of the cliff, 

Let me see your face, 

Let me hear your voice; 

For your voice is sweet, 

And your face is lovely." 

Song of Songs 2:10-14 NKJV