I am not good at reflecting. I officiated a memorial service today in a nursing home. The point of the service was to look back at the lives of the residents who died and how they influenced us. That got me thinking about "looking back" in general. I am no t good at it. I am much more of a daydreamer about possible things to come. I can sit and imagine great plans and visions of future endeavors, but rarely do I sit and reflect on what has just happened.
What happens when I don't reflect is that I don't remember correctly who I am. I remember coming across a book about three years ago called "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", by Oliver Sacks. He is a neuroligist and the same person played by Robin Williams in the movie "Awakenings". I read a few chapters of this book which described some of Sacks' experiences as a neurologist over the years. The one story that I remember is when he described a patient he treated who suffered from Korsakov's disease. This disease is one that impedes the short term memory and one is always having to reorient themselves to who they are, their context, and their situation.
Situations, whether good or bad, can make me forget as well. If I am faced with hardship, I forget the blessings in my life, and that God has continued to take care of me. I don't reflect on the big picture and am too focused on the small view of what is right in my face. Setting a pattern of reflection in one's life guards against this. I have been trying to journal in my Moleskine lately. Journaling, blogging, talking, thinking, all ways of reflecting that I am trying to increase.
Isn't part of the church's role to reflect? Maybe reflect isn't the right word. Maybe remember. I don't know if that is the right word either. Dwell in the story of who God is and who we are. Isn't this one of the key elements of corporate worship? When we get together to sing songs of God's goodness, his future, his present; when we read the scripture that tells us the story of his acts; when we say the creeds to each other; we are reflecting, placing ourselves in the context of who we are and who God is.Labels: church, Korsakov's disease, reflections, remembering, worship |
