A few years ago, while reading though the book of Deuteronomy, this verse grabbed my attention:
Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:15 (Emphasis added)
I was fascinated by the idea that the Sabbath is both a day of rest and a day of remembrance. It is a day the LORD has commanded we use to remember His faithfulness in our lives, to remember the grace and mercy He has shown us throughout our lives and in the prior week.
I need that weekly remembrance for I am not unlike the Israelites, a forgetful people. They forgot that God had fed them the bread of angels (Psalm 78:25), that He had sated their thirst with the living water brought forth from a rock (Numbers 20:7-8). In their forgetfulness, and perhaps their anxiety over circumstances they couldn’t understand, they turned to an idol made of their own gold (Exodus 32:3-4).
I do my own forgetting of God’s grace and mercy; of His gifts given through the senses, gifts given daily. These tender mercies are given with such constancy that I come to expect them, almost as if they are my due – forgetting that they are gift.
I forget that with my eyes I am able to behold the face of my loved one, even if over video.
I am able to hear and enjoy the sound of the wind in the trees.
I am to feel the warmth of the sun, or the damp of the rain, on my skin.
I am able to smell and eagerly anticipate the meal being prepared.
I am able to taste the handmade sweets whipped up by our youngest.
I know there is much to grieve in the unnesting process. I know there is much to grieve in this year. I know some of us have hearts weighed heavy by it all.
But friend, may I encourage you to remember the goodness of the LORD in your life, in the lives of your children. I realize all may not look good in your children’s lives or in the world at this moment, but remember His goodness, His tender mercies. Write a list, make a record of where you have seen God in His tenderness helping you through the harder parts of unnesting, the harder parts of this year.
We are to remember all He has done by the might of His hand and rest in Him.
Rest in His faithfulness.
Rest in His sovereignty.
Rest and remember. Remember and rest.
May you find your solace in Jesus, sweet friend, for in Him we have a living hope (1 Peter 1:3).
The Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will give rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
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