I Remember

My husband, Gary, was a helicopter and fixed-wing pilot in the Army for the first nearly 20 years of our marriage.  We were stationed in Colorado when he got orders to serve in Germany.  It’s all a bit of a blur, those months of separation as he attended a school before we went to Germany.  

Finally, it was time for the movers to come.  They loaded up our belongings for transport to Germany.  Well, not all our belongings.  Most of our furniture and all our appliances were put into storage, waiting on our return to the states later…six years later, though we didn’t know at the time it would be that long.

Several more months went by before Gary was assigned temporary quarters.  Off I went with two babies to join him in Germany.  Our temp quarters were on the fourth floor of an old WW2 building.  The laundry room was down in the basement.  Our apartment was full of military furniture that had been used by who knows how many families before us.

Eventually we moved into our permanent quarters.  We had a nice apartment on the top floor of our building, complete with a balcony.  We called this “stairwell living.”  We had some of our furniture but most of what we had was sturdy, used military grade furnishings.  Nothing fancy, for sure, but usable.

All of us wives were in the same boat.  When we would get together, we often found ourselves talking about the furniture we had back in the states.  One missed her living room set, another her big hutch and her nice dishes, or the beautiful bedroom suit one had bought shortly before getting their orders for Germany.

We would laugh and carry on, but all of us did miss what we used to have.

There are times we all miss what used to be.  

The parents who are no longer here on earth.  Or who are here but not here, and we care for them as though they were our children. 

The spouse gone way too soon.

The child that we never dreamed we would lose.

The empty house when all the children are gone.

The healthy body we or our loved one had but is now ravaged by illness or slowed by age.

The friendships damaged beyond repair.

The ministries that once were but are now gone.

We all have our lists, don’t we?  The memories flood in sometimes, and we can say with David in Psalm 42:3-4:

“My tears have been my food day and night…these things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.”

Memories of what was but is no more.

“Sometimes we can remember a ‘before,’ which is no longer present in the ‘now,’ doesn’t seem recoverable, and it saddens and distresses us.”  (Dale Davis)

But David doesn’t end it there.

“O my God, my soul is in despair within me; THEREFORE I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.” (v. 6)

No matter his location or how far he was from the familiar paths of his life, David remembered WHO he needed to remember in the middle of his despair.

He remembered God.

God my rock, David said.  

God my hope.

God my help.

God is present with me today, in my now, just as He was in my past.  

All of you who follow Christ can say the same thing.  Yes, memories can be a blessing, but they can also bring pain and depression.  

O God, help us to not only remember what was, but to remember Who IS!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness,
Great is Thy faithfulness.
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above.
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness.
Great is Thy faithfulness.
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide.
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.
Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside.

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Author: Patty hesaidwhatks

I'm Patty and I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.

21 thoughts on “I Remember”

  1. Thank you for that. I needed to read that. Four weeks ago our 36 yr old daughter had an emergency craniectomy on the left side of her brain. It’s been a very long 4 weeks with multiple neurologists, neurosurgeons, kidney doctors, infectious disease doctors and hospitalists looking at her case. She’s had numerous CT scans and MRI’s and last week had to have a lumbar puncture to place a drain in her spine. They believe all of this was caused from her autoimmune system attacking her and causing her brain to swell. It’s called ADEM. Hers is a rare case. God has been faithful through all of this and we have seen His hand of protection over her each step of the way. What you wrote today has only emphasized His faithfulness to us. It’s miracle to see her up walking with her walker and helmet on. She knows us and understands everything although she cannot express her thoughts by way of language. Her words make no sense. We are hoping that will come back with therapy. We serve an awesome God a God of miracles!

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    1. Oh Amy, you and your family are certainly walking through the fire right now. But look at how you are giving glory to God for His hand of protection through it all. You are a wonderful example of one who is not giving in to despair as you face this new reality with your daughter. Thank you for sharing your story. I will pray for your daughter and for you. I hope you will keep me updated as you can on how she is doing. May God’s presence be your strength.

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  2. Patty, God is faithful and is always present in our NOW. The old hymn, “Great Is His Faithfulness,” brings back memories but most important, he has his hand over each one of us. Hallelujah! Thank you for sharing.

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  3. Such a beautiful and uplifting post! It is true as scripture promises, “God’s mercies are new every morning.”(Lamentations 3: 22-23). (I, too, am praying for Amy’s daughter.)

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  7. I love what you said here, ‘O God, help us to not only remember what was, but to remember Who IS!’
    God’s faithfulness is a warm blessing to us.
    Praying for Amy’s daughter now and in the days to come!!🙏🏻❤️

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  8. A beautiful and encouraging post Patty which includes my favorite hymn. I love your words, “O God, help us to not only remember what was, but to remember Who IS!” It was interesting to hear a mom’s perspective of living on base in Germany. My husband’s stepfather was a Marine and they lived in Germany for several years. Some of my husband’s favorite boyhood memories took place there. Now I wish I had asked my mother-in-law what that experience had been like for her.

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    1. We had some great times in Germany. I wish I had written more back then of what our days were like there but life was super busy. And then there were many stresses, too. I look back and wonder how I did it all but I know it was God’s grace…and being young! HaHa! God was…and IS…so faithful!

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