Parents, When We Forget Who We Are:* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, when we forget who we are. First semester of my freshman year in college I played intramural flag football. In one game, I was going up to catch a pass and collided really hard, head to head with another player. I remember nothing much after that. Apparently I just wondered off the field and went back to my dorm and fell asleep. (BTW isn’t that what you are NOT supposed to do with a concussion? That would explain a lot.) When I woke up, I asked my roommates what happened to our room? They thought I was trying to be funny, but I actually did not remember that we had changed it all around the day before. With a few more questions, they were worried about me and escorted me to the campus infirmary. The nurse evaluated me and asked them to take me to the ER. So, they did. As we drove out of the parking lot, my roommates pointed out my “new to me” car and said “there is your new car” … to which I excitedly responded, “I have a new car! That’s awesome!” They said, “you don’t remember? You just drove it back from Knoxville a couple of days ago.” They thought it was kind of funny, so they circled the parking lot again and pointed out my new car to see what my reaction would be… and yes, I gave the same response, “I got a new car! That’s awesome!” So, with much glee they did that a few more times to amuse themselves and confirm that my short-term memory had indeed been impared before finally taking me to the hospital. One of my roommates was headed to Med School and must have been fascinated by the brain and injuries to the brain and perhaps he thought I made a good “living cadaver brain” on which he could experiment… kind of like “10 second Tom” from the movie 50 First Dates, who completely forgot what had happened just a few seconds before. They did get me to the ER and the doctor evaluated my amnesia and sent me back to the school infirmary for observation. I had absolutely no recollection of my car, the drive back to school in said car, what classes I was taking, my new college friends or that I had tried out and made the JV Cheer squad, asking “whose megaphone” was in my room… I ended up in the infirmary for a few days… I didn’t remember that either. Later, when freshman English papers were due… I had no clue. With short term memory loss, I couldn’t focus long enough to remember the sentance I had just written. And apparently, I really hurt the feelings of some of my new friends, because I didn’t acknowledge them in the cafeteria. I didn’t know I knew them. It was a rough semester… I considered transferring back to the university closer to home. But I didn’t. I eventually recovered and began to remember things again.

Sometimes we get spiritual amnesia, forgetting who we are. If we can remember who God is, what He has done for us, and how much He really loves us, it will inform us of who we are. We can sometimes look at trying circumstances and completely forget all the blessings God gives us, and begin acting out-of-character. At one point King David had to remind himself who God really is with a song, and he said, “My soul, bless the LORD, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits. He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.” Psalm 103:1-5 (CSBBible) Once David is reminded, his whole outlook on life is changed and he reminds all of God’s people how loving and compassionate and forgiving God is. So, when we forget who we are, we need to remind ourselves who God is and that will help our souls remember who we really are and that we act like Him…Sometimes we have to be reminded over and over again, just like my roommates circling the parking lot and showing me my new car… “this is your New Life in Christ, this is the Way; walk in it.”

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!