Days of Remembrance

Do you have special days of remembrance?

The Jews, in Esther, created a new day of remembrance. They decide to set aside the day, every year, to recall the wondrous deliverance that God had brought about for them. A day to celebrate, give gifts and remember the poor. A day to remember that they had been delivered from death and given a new opportunity for life.

The Jews deliberately made an effort from this time forth to celebrate their deliverance from annihilation. Mordecai and Esther even established this holiday through a written letter of encouragement to all the Jews officially dedicating this day as one of celebration known as Purim. This day is an annual recollection, it is still a celebrated feast today. The nation has upheld it’s identity and continues to mark the day of deliverance.
This isn’t the Jews only day of remembrance either, they also have Passover, Hannukah and Yom Kippur to name a few, they have other important times of celebration too. The Jews are very good at celebrating. They are good at remembering, setting aside time to recall major triumphs in faith. They purposefully put dates in their diary to recall the times they have seen God at work in their lives. Do you?

Do you set aside any time in your year when you celebrate what God has done in your life? An annual commemoration? No wonder the Jews are fervent in their faith when they make time to rejoice in the breakthroughs of times past and can relate this to their own lives. They take time out of their busy lives to celebrate, not just what God has done for them personally, but they look wider and further to see what God has always been up to. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. By looking back and commemorating what God has done before brings confidence in what God is doing now and will do in the future.

Do you celebrate? Do you have significant highlights in your life, your town, your church, your nation that you should be commemorating?
How can you set aside time to recollect God’s hand in your life and the life of the church?

As a family, we have a couple of specific days that we celebrate. We set aside time to recall the days when our children became part of our family. We always make a point of doing something different and make sure we; share memories, reflect on how things have changed, discuss the highlights, the adventures, funny things that have happened and even how we ourselves have changed. I love hearing our kids stories and their memories. They are so precious. It helps me know our children better, what they value. It is an important opportunity for us all to talk to each other and acknowledge what we have and how far we have come. It does something to build relationship, and it puts extra joy in our hearts, it raises our hopes and expectations and helps us to see the work God has been doing. As a parent, it does my heart good to all get together and celebrate, as a child don’t you think it raises their hopes? Think about how God feels when we set aside to celebrate Him. As an imperfect parent I value the memories of my children, the strengths and aspirations they share, how much more so would God value the time we choose to spend commemorating Him and all the work He has been up to? Then imagine the faith it will build in yourself.

I think the Jewish customs of celebration, of marking key events in their history is important. It causes them to remember, to realign their vision, to reassess their values and regard the greatness of God, not just in theory, but in reality. How would your faith, your life change if you too set important dates of remembrance in your calendar?

 We all have stories, we all have adventures of faith, we all have breakthroughs. How can you commemorate the successes of your life?