Before I Was a Kid
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalms 139:16
In his devotional, entitled Double Blessing, Mark Batterson writes about Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler's practice of asking his new counselling clients, "What is your earliest memory?" No matter what the patient said, Batterson goes on to tell us that Adler's response was always, "And so life is."
Adler's practice was the result of his belief that early memories have a profound impact on the soul.
I would tend to agree with Adler, and would take it a step further to say that our impression of these memories has a profound and compass-like impact on our lives.
May I get very vulnerable with you? Okay, here goes.
I have a very early memory. The memory has followed me throughout my life and bothered me a bit because it's unnatural. It is very vivid. I tried for years to suppress it or explain it away, but I knew it was not a dream. It was far too real. Before my mother passed away, I discussed the memory with her, and she smiled beautifully and said, "I think you have a piece of a mystery." Her belief in me and in the vastness of God was so very comforting.
The memory was this . . .
I was a young child in a white dress, playing outside in a beautiful place with some other children. Behind me stood several men, I think three, but do not remember exactly, nor do I remember who they were. I just remember being completely unafraid. The men called me over and let me know I was being sent somewhere to complete a task, and that I was just the person to do it. The next thing I remember was being in a very warm, dark place where I felt very safe. I could hear the beating of what I would later come to realize as my mother's heart. I even remember being born, being brought home from the hospital, and many other small, obscure details.
These early memories have had a profound impact on my soul, as Adler contends, but only because I can see Jesus' hand in my life from its very beginning, and have known He has a purpose for my life--just as He has for yours.
You may not trust my memory or may think I simply have a very active imagination, and that's okay. I'll admit it's pretty far-fetched. But, isn't that just like the character of God?
It's something for you to think about tonight.
I'll leave you with a poem from my latest book, Pithy Poems for Peculiar People. But, before I do that, what's your earliest memory?
Goodnight, Runners.
In his devotional, entitled Double Blessing, Mark Batterson writes about Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler's practice of asking his new counselling clients, "What is your earliest memory?" No matter what the patient said, Batterson goes on to tell us that Adler's response was always, "And so life is."
Adler's practice was the result of his belief that early memories have a profound impact on the soul.
I would tend to agree with Adler, and would take it a step further to say that our impression of these memories has a profound and compass-like impact on our lives.
May I get very vulnerable with you? Okay, here goes.
I have a very early memory. The memory has followed me throughout my life and bothered me a bit because it's unnatural. It is very vivid. I tried for years to suppress it or explain it away, but I knew it was not a dream. It was far too real. Before my mother passed away, I discussed the memory with her, and she smiled beautifully and said, "I think you have a piece of a mystery." Her belief in me and in the vastness of God was so very comforting.
The memory was this . . .
I was a young child in a white dress, playing outside in a beautiful place with some other children. Behind me stood several men, I think three, but do not remember exactly, nor do I remember who they were. I just remember being completely unafraid. The men called me over and let me know I was being sent somewhere to complete a task, and that I was just the person to do it. The next thing I remember was being in a very warm, dark place where I felt very safe. I could hear the beating of what I would later come to realize as my mother's heart. I even remember being born, being brought home from the hospital, and many other small, obscure details.
These early memories have had a profound impact on my soul, as Adler contends, but only because I can see Jesus' hand in my life from its very beginning, and have known He has a purpose for my life--just as He has for yours.
You may not trust my memory or may think I simply have a very active imagination, and that's okay. I'll admit it's pretty far-fetched. But, isn't that just like the character of God?
It's something for you to think about tonight.
I'll leave you with a poem from my latest book, Pithy Poems for Peculiar People. But, before I do that, what's your earliest memory?
BEFORE I WAS A KID
Before I was a kid
My Father knew my every thought
Before I was a kid
He sent His Son, my sins He bought
Before I was a kid
God saw me in my mother’s womb
Before I was a kid
In Heaven He prepared my room
Before I was a kid
I was a sinner just like you
Before I was a kid
Sweet Jesus knew what I would do
Before I was a kid
My Jesus had a place on high
Before I was a kid
He called to me and bid me nigh
O, let me be a kid
With eyes that see just who He is
Joyful, loving kid
Content in knowing I am His.
Goodnight, Runners.
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