A Book of Remembrance

Hello, my sweet friends.

It's Monday, the coffee's on, and I'm so glad you're here. Some of you are driving to work. Some of you are standing at a kitchen sink with a baby on your hip. Some of you haven't slept. I see you. Let's sit down together for a few minutes.

I want to read you something from the book of Malachi this morning. It's a little verse that hides near the very end of the Old Testament, and most people walk right past it.

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name."

A book of remembrance.

Isn't that beautiful? God writes things down. Every kindness you did that nobody thanked you for. Every night you stayed up with somebody else's grief. He doesn't forget a single one of us. It's all written down.

I keep a little book too. I always have, since I was a girl. Nothing fancy. Just the names of the people God puts in my path, and what they need, and what they've given. When somebody writes to me, I put their name in it, and I pray down the page. Some of you are in it. Some of you would be surprised.

Because here's what I've learned in all my years of ministry, friends. People forget. They forget what you did for them, and they forget what they did. A man will look you in the eye and tell you it never happened, and believe it while he says it.

But it's written down somewhere. It always is.

So here's your homework this week, and I want you to really do it. Take a piece of paper, or the back of an envelope. Write down one name. Somebody who hurt you. Somebody you've been carrying.

And next to that name, write one word: forgiven.

Then fold it up and keep it. Put it in your Bible, or your jewelry box, or the back of a drawer. Don't throw it away, sweet friend. Forgiving isn't the same as forgetting. The Lord keeps His book, and you can keep yours.

Let's pray.

Father, thank You that You remember us. Thank You that not one tear falls that You don't count. For every woman listening who feels invisible this morning, write her name where she can see it. Give us hearts that forgive, and the wisdom to remember. In Jesus' name, amen.

I'm Rebecca. This has been Midnight Bread. Go be somebody's blessing today.