We Remember...

I Remember Not

I previously did a series on Reinventing Middle Age that was fun and yet emphasized the positive aspects of navigating through mid-life issues; health, REALationships, psychology and other issues. Not only was it fun to write and research, but it helped some of you as well as myself make positive, more healthy decisions in this season of life.

A new development has occurred in my middle-aged journey though, and I'd like to share with you. It is a topic that I'm sure is on every middle-aged person's mind...when they can remember it. 

It is the dreaded middle-aged memory issue.

The idea to include middle-aged memory in my Reinventing Middle Age series came to me one particular morning when preparing breakfast (I can't remember how long ago...possibly a couple of months). I reached into the cupboard to get the cooking oil, and instead, I found a half-gallon of milk.

My first reaction was extreme annoyance that one of the other family members had been absent-minded when putting the milk in the cupboard instead of the refrigerator. "Great," I said, "Someone just wasted a half-gallon of milk!" I huffed it over to the sink and promptly dumped it down the drain. Far too annoyed to speak, I continued on with the breakfast preparation, and tried to think of how long it must have been in there and who used it last. My strategy was to interrogate each of the two primary suspects in this mindless household crime to see which one had a late-night bowl of cereal or other snack involving milk.

Unfortunately, my stealth interrogation yielded no confession. The other family members appeared just as perplexed as I was at this mystery crime. In fact, they even found it comical which annoyed me even more. But, before breaking out the CSI Crime Scene Junior Investigating Kit to dust for fingerprints, or the Spy Gear Lie Detector Kit, I thought I would take another approach. I was determined to get a confession and scold accordingly.

However, the investigation took a surprising turn when, before I could finish cooking breakfast, my middle-aged memory kicked in and I remembered that I had used the milk to make mashed potatoes the night before for dinner. If the others had truly not used the milk after that - it could only mean one thing...

I WAS THE CRIMINAL WHO PUT THE MILK IN THE CUPBOARD INSTEAD OF THE THE REFRIGERATOR!!!

I truly did not remember doing that!

Thus was born the idea to address the issue of middle-aged memory as part of my Reinventing Middle Age series.

On a lighter note, being the youngest one in the household has its advantages.  A couple days later someone found the dry cereal in the refrigerator rather than the cupboard and I did not do that one, so apparently I am not the only one who suffers memory lapses around here.

So, I will be addressing the issue of memory in middle age in upcoming posts.  Stay tuned for more fun and frivolity as we take both a comical and realistic look at memory issues for middle-agers and what we can do to help ourselves navigate through this challenge while travleing through this season of life!

Hey. If you don't see a post from me for a while, please send me an email and remind me to continue...

More Than Words

In March, I read a very touching article about a British man who was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND), better known in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease.  As a result of this neuromuscular degenerative disease, he would eventually lose his voice, and ultimately because there is no cure, he would lose his life. 

While the disease is tragic in and of itself, to make matters even more heartbreaking, at the time the article was written he had a 13-month old son.

Knowing the rapid progression of the disease and that there was a good possibility that his son may never hear his natural voice, this man decided to record 1,600 sentences for a computer program that would break them up into individual sounds and then piece them back together again to form words under his control when he would be forced to speak through a synthesizer.  He wanted his son to hear his authentic voice complete with his regional accent.

He said, "He [his son] is the key motivation for me to record my voice so that if my voice is lost, he can still hear what his dad sounds like. I might be able to read him bedtime stories; your voice is part of your identity. He can maybe also hear what I sound like when I am no longer here."

 The voice.  It is a powerful instrument.

It is an amazing thing, a parents desire to be able to communicate to their children throughout life.  To be able to comfort and guide and teach, and to have their child know their voice distinct from all the rest so  that their child will be able to say unequivocally,  "That is the voice of the one who loves me!"

What a touching story of this man with MND. As followers of Jesus and thus children of God, it is our story as well.

Jesus, referring to all who would follow Him as sheep and Himself as the Good Shepherd responded to His critics saying,

“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”  John 10:3-5

You know, the child in the news story mentioned above will hear many voices throughout his life; aunts, uncles, teachers, professors, friends, bosses, politicians, movies, music, television, news reporters, etc.  The gift his father is giving to him will afford him the privilege of being able to distinguish his father's voice from all others. What an invaluable gift!

As deeply as the father in the story desires to be able to communicate love and fatherly instruction to his child – whether present or absent -  so much more does God desire to communicate His love with those who follow after Him.  

YOU are the main motivation that God sent Jesus to be a living testament to God’s love. YOU are the main motivation that God sent His Holy Spirit to continue to communicate His love after Jesus left.  YOU are the main motivation that God caused men to write the #1 bestselling book of all time – the Bible – so that YOU would have a handbook, a written reminder of the identity, nature, character, instruction and desire of your Father in Heaven.

God speaks to His children in three primary ways:

1.    Through the written/spoken word/scripture (the Bible);

2.  Through Providence (God’s care and guidance manifested in the physical realm, e.g.   nature, events, people); and

3.    Through His Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God communicates directly to our spirit).

Do we take His promise of communication for granted? Or do we regard it as a special privilege?

It is true you know... listening is an act of love!

In this life, in this day and age, particularly with the technological advances, we are bombarded with many voices.  It is easy to lose our way.  But the promise we have is this: that if we are His sheep, we will KNOW his voice.

What station in life are you currently in dear reader?

As a believer, you have a promise that you will know His voice.  Whether it be through the written word of scripture, His Spirit, or through providence, God’s desire to communicate with you has never diminished. 

Are you listening?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Wishing dads everywhere a special day! 

From someone who is blessed with one of the best...


Happy Father's Day!