Remembering to Remember
“I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
So often I forget.
I forget all that you have done for me, O Lord.
I forget about all the times you have taken care of me.
I forget about how you have never let me down.
Today, I recount all of the people you have used to change my life.
Thank you Lord for Ms. Miller, my 2nd-grade teacher who made me feel so special and important.
Thank you Lord for my Junior High coaches. Coach Boone, Coach Malcolm, and Coach Z, who helped me through an extremely difficult time in my life without even knowing it. I remember how elated I felt when they went out of their way to say hello to me in the hallways.
Thank you Lord for Aaron, my camp counselor, who made me feel like the coolest kid in school during a time in my life when I was anything but. He made me feel like I mattered. Like I was wanted.
Thank you Lord for my college professor Bob, who saw through my insecurities, took a chance on me, and loved me no matter what.
Thank you Lord for Fred, who took me to the movies the month my parents split up. Paul, who scrolled through his contacts to find me a mentor. Alex, who met with me for a season to walk me through the hurts and pains of growing up without a father present. John, who modeled how to read the Bible and have a real relationship with God.
Thank you Jesus. You’ve taken care of me, even when it seemed like you weren’t. I will be glad and exult in you, for you have been good to me.
Who is it in your life? Who has the Lord used to make an impact on you?
Let us praise him today for those people.
Those people listed above, the people who I am thankful for this morning, had little to no idea the impact they were making in my life. They weren’t saying, “I bet Zach is going to write about me in a blog in 20 years because of what I’m doing right now!”
But look what the Lord did. He takes our everyday interactions, our little smiles here and words of encouragement there, and uses them to transform lives. And he is doing the same in you today.
Keep being like Jesus. Focus on what you are doing instead of what you’re not doing. Trust that the Spirit is using you. It is He that is changing lives through you. The only thing that is needed is our “yes”. He does the rest.
Thank you Jesus. We recount your faithfulness today. We praise your name.