I experienced a “use it or lose it” situation recently. I’ve heard this phrase in reference to muscle tone or muscle memory, about athletic skills, or musical talents. Or even what we have learned and thought we’d never forget. Like the street address of your best friend in fourth grade. Or the state capitals or the definition of an isosceles triangle or the square root of 144. Or how to use the calculator that will figure out the square root for you. Ha!
It comes down to rehearsing those memory muscles, right? In about 5-7 weeks many families will begin the arduous task of rehearsing with their kids on how to use the alarm clock so they don’t miss the bus or carpool to school, right? I’m sure that was my parents’ least favorite part of summer break!
I’ve been told it takes about 21 days to establish a habit. In my experience, it takes about a week of not continuing that habit to forget it ever was a habit. So how are you doing on your routines this Summer? I’ll confess I’m only doing a marginal job on keeping up my daily walk. But I am grateful to say I’m doing a steady job on my daily devotional reading. And this has been my personal best muscle memory to maintain.
I started last Fall with sitting on the back porch in the coolish mornings to read and pray for about 15-20 minutes before other pieces of the day cascade and it’s become my favorite habit. And yes, in the winter months it took at least five minutes to get bundled up enough to sit on the back porch but I did it anyway. A couple of things I learned … hot tea is particularly wonderful when sipped on a cold porch and sacrificing a little comfort to keep an appointment with God makes it somehow more valued. It gets my head and my heart in a better place to go out and represent the Lord in my everyday walking around life.
If you don’t have a regular time with the Lord daily in His Word, would you reach out and we can explore together how you might arrange your daily appointment with the Lord? This is muscle memory work worth every effort to establish, build-up, and maintain!
Here’s what I was blessed to read yesterday morning … spoken by Zechariah, prophesying over his newborn son named John:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us …And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1.68-69,77-79
Astoundingly, prayers are answered. Promises are kept. Believers are equipped and sent out to share what they know to be true about God. We are guided and strengthened when we rehearse our memory muscles of God’s plan for us, His work in us and through us, with time in His Word. Best appointment of any day!
Trusting the Lord with you, Colleen
Would you daily this week, pray for children who are a part of our VBS the first week of August to have their hearts touched by the Living Word of God? We trust God is arranging which children will be with us and which meaningful moments will stir their hearts to want to know more about Jesus because of the tender mercy of our God.