This Too Shall Pass

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faith, hope, life, love, marriage, opinion, truth

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I sometime joke that forgetfulness is the foundation for a happy marriage. It’s a bit funny, I can forget why I walked into a room sometimes, but I can remember every word that was said in 1987 at 4:33, what you were wearing, what we had to eat, and of course, why exactly you were totally wrong.

Some of us have memories like a dinosaur and some of us don’t. I once tried to remind my husband about something he said four years ago while camping and he just looked at me blankly. Not only had he forgotten, he was actually convinced we’d never even gone camping there. We had, I have the pictures.

Forgetfulness really is a skill I’ve learned from hubby. Once he was mad at me and I asked him what his problem was and he looked at me quite innocently and said, “I don’t remember.” Well there you go! If you can’t remember why you are mad, then you have no business being mad about it.

Some 90% of the things that get us all riled up, we can’t even remember a year later. I try to remember this truth when things get me all riled up. Will it even matter 3 mos from now? I have no idea why I have this 90 day cut off,  but I do. I should probably shrink that down to about two weeks. Most of the time, I can’t even remember what I was upset about two weeks ago.

In faith however, forgetfulness is not so good. Like, we need to be immersed in the word, immersed in prayer, reminded by other Christians about some of the truths we hold dear. Our own brain is seldom big enough to carry all the tools we might need for any given situation. You will forget stuff. And sometimes you just need fresh eyes, reminding you to look at things from another perspective.

I can’t tell you how many times something has been said, something simple perhaps, that was a word just for me, so perfect, so timely, exactly what I needed to hear. People often have no idea that what they are saying is just so perfectly tailored to whatever I am dealing with. Many times I’ve thought, you’re spying on me, right? You have an elf on the shelf with hidden camera in it? How would you even know this? It just defies all explanation.

I have also been really surprised, floored even, when the Holy Spirit has spoken a word to me, bible verses mostly, that I didn’t even l know were  in my head. My memory is just not that good. Some of those verses have left me completely befuddled, like I just did not understand how this applies….but I sure did later, it made incredible sense after the fact when I started to catch on.

I don’t really memorize bible verses, I never have. I have snatches, phrases like the lyrics to songs that have stuck in my head, bits of poetry that have resonated. “This too shall pass,” is one such lyric that is not literally in the bible word for word, but the essence, the concept is written throughout. It’s bigger than the promise that you will get through this, bigger than the promise that you won’t always be stuck in the moment, although those are valid points, too.

It is actually a truth to be found in Acts 2:21, it shall come to pass. That’s a promise. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Not just saved in an eternal sense, but saved in the here and now. He hears our cries, He answers our call, if only we can trust in Him.

Young people sometimes can get so caught up in the moment, so trapped in the emotion, as if to say, “this is where I’ll always be, nothing is ever going to change.” If there is one thing I could pass along,  that would be it, “this too shall pass.” Sleep on it. Take a nap like Jesus did during the storm. Call out to the Lord and trust in Him to get you through it. Do nothing. Wait for the world to turn once again. This too shall pass.

 

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