Forgetfulness

Forgetfulness is something that really drives me nuts sometimes.

I have a hard time understanding why the people around me can't remember to do the simplest of things. Lately, my son keeps forgetting to turn off the lights in his room and closet before he comes downstairs. Sometimes my youngest daughter forgets to flush when she goes potty (don't be grossed out...it only happens when she goes tinkle...all of you parents can stand in solidarity with this experience...there's no need to question my parenting on this!). Don't tell anyone, but my wife frequently forgets to put the lid on the toothpaste, too.

It's not like I'm asking these dear ones of mine to go out of their way or something. They know how much their forgetfulness irritates me. Heaven knows how many times I've told them.

Truth is, the frailty of their memory is simply a reminder of my own forgetfulness. That's what is so darned irritating. Every day having to face the reality that I have my own shortcomings and idiosyncracies to bear. Ssshhh...don't tell anyone...I think this is still a pretty well-kept secret. NOT!

Forgetting in its simplest form is failing to act. It's not like I consciously think about all of the little things I do every day - turning out the light, flushing the toilet, putting the lid on the toothpaste. Certain actions simply become habit. I do them without thinking.

Psalm 103:1-5 says this,

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits -

who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Praising God is a lifestyle. Sometimes praise is a conscious act, but most of the times praise is simply evident in one's habits, the things one does when one isn't necessarily thinking.

Problem is, sometime I forget. I yell. I gesture. I hang my head. I mope. I push away. I blame.

The psalmist says to praise the Lord and forget not all of God's benefits. Not some of God's benefits. All of them. Don't just hold on to one or two of your favorite. Remember all of God's benefits.

God forgives. God heals. God redeems. God crowns. God satisfies with good things. All this so that we can be renewed and soar.

Now that I think about it, maybe everyone else's forgetfulness - as annoying as it is - reminds me not to forget. Not to forget all of the benefits that God has granted and vested in my life.

Lord, let your benefits be evident in the things I do and say. Let praise become a habit.