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Matthew 26:13 and Mark 14:9 “Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” (NASB)

A woman came to Jesus and anointed His feet with expensive perfume and here Jesus says that she was preparing Him for His burial and that the memory of what she did would live on long after she was gone from this life, throughout the whole world.

Those of you who hear me preach have likely heard me say – because I have long believed – that our memory is a gift from God. The wealth of memories it contains helps us throughout our lives. One example is that when we lose loved ones, our memories of those dear people help to comfort us, even when the memories make us sad.

Philippians 1:3 I thank my God at every memory of you (TLV)

Our memory is also a tool which helps us throughout our everyday lives. When the memory is injured, it creates difficulty for us. Even simple, ordinary tasks can become complicated.

Thoughts about memory and memories are coming to mind today. As you may know, Bob had a stroke on the left side of his brain and multiple mini strokes on both sides in the days after he came off the ventilator as he was recovering from Covid.

One of the impacts of a left-side stroke is loss of memory and that is one of the things Bob is dealing with, primarily to his short-term memory, but there seem to be some impacts on longer term memory also. Sometimes, I find this difficult, but not surprisingly Bob finds it extremely difficult.

Psalm 105:5 Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth. (NASB)

Still, as we have seen Bob’s doctors in the past several days, their amazement at Bob’s remarkable recovery – which we credit to God – is one of the “wonders which He has done” – and that reminder helps to make the difficulties more bearable. It could have been so much worse.

Not only that, but we have seen definite signs of improvement in his memory over the course of Bob’s recovery – which gives us hope that it will continue to improve as his recovery progresses. It’s a reminder that what is may not necessarily be what will be.

Father God, I thank You that You choose not to remember our sins against us because of what Jesus did for us when He died for us on the cross; and through the Holy Spirit within us, You are working within us, making us more like Jesus; and when Jesus rose again, You showed that we will also be raised to new life. As I remember these things, I thank You for what You have done for us in the past, what You are doing for us in the present, and what You will do for us in the future – both as we remain here in this life and when we are forever with You in Heaven. Thank You for the gifts of this life – including our memories – and may we treasure them for the stories that they tell us of Your faithfulness to us throughout our lives. Through Christ Jesus I pray, Amen.

Psalm 63:6 On my bed I remember You. I think of You through the hours of the night. (NLV)