KELSIE PETERSEN | Contributor and a Boy-Mom |
My Adventist upbringing was a little different from many former Adventists I’ve encountered. While I began my school years in a little church school in the church basement, it encountered enrollment issues (as many of them do), and closed after I finished fourth grade. As I’ve swapped stories with other formers over the past 20 years, it seems that, when faced with a similar situation, many Adventist parents chose to send their kids to public schools rather than a “non-SDA Christian school.” Thankfully, and providentially, my parents decided to send us to Christian schools, and so, with the exception of seventh grade (when the Adventist school briefly re-opened), I attended a couple of Christian schools from fifth through twelfth grades. I credit these schools with being primary vehicles in the path that led me to the gospel, to being born again, and to ultimately leaving Adventism for the sake of the gospel. Over the years, aside from the “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic”, and even beyond those things, there are a few key practices and opportunities I see that have shaped my life in far bigger ways.
One of the ways that has been front of mind lately for me is memorizing Scripture. Both schools I attended required some form of Scripture memory, but the second school I attended required quite a lengthy passage to be memorized each month. In fact, my own children now attend what was once a sister school to mine, and the school has continued this practice through all these years.
But as the years have passed, having all of that Scripture committed to memory (or, at least, it’s “in there somewhere”) has become one of my most treasured assets.
Also unchanged is the quasi-eye-rolling response to being “forced” to put in the work to commit these passages to memory. I remember feeling much the same way as my children do now, not wanting to take the time or effort needed to complete the task. But as the years have passed, having all of that Scripture committed to memory (or, at least, it’s “in there somewhere”) has become one of my most treasured assets. I might not be able to recite it all, all these years later, but when I read the Bible, the words feel somehow more assuring, more comforting, because they ARE familiar. I can’t tell you the number of times that a verse, or even a phrase, that I memorized years ago has come into my mind just when I needed it. So, as I now encourage my children on their memorizing journey, I do so with a full understanding of the deep value it can, and will, have for them throughout their lives.
Transitions
We are into our third school year of big transitions, moving across the province, kids transitioning from homeschool to classrooms, and me taking on more employment than I have since before my kids were born. It’s been busy, and I admit that, while I fully know the value of the Scripture memorizing, I haven’t given it the priority it should have had—I wish I had spent more time helping my kids each month. I also have had the intent of memorizing along with them, but the months have ticked by, and it just hasn’t “happened.” This school year has been particularly busy: the last child has transitioned from homeschooling to the classroom, I’ve taken on even more work responsibilities, and I feel like the last three months have been a version of “get in, be quiet, and hold on.”
It’s been easy for things to slip, and in October, the Scripture memorizing slipped. My youngest was so deeply disappointed because he very much wanted to earn the Scripture Memory Award at the end of June by saying all of his verses on time each month, but he didn’t get October’s passage done in time. I admit I felt responsible, as I had been “too busy” to help him as much as I would have liked. I had also been “too busy” to prioritize it for myself. So, this month, I’ve been making a concerted effort to work on this month’s passage—for myself, and for him—and we have made our own deal for a reward at the end of the year if he keeps working through the rest of the passages.
If you ever want to be reminded, or notified, that you aren’t as young as you once were, tackle a large passage of memory work after not attempting it for several years. It has been a challenge these past couple of weeks! I find myself getting frustrated at how easily I get mixed up, how the words don’t just “come” like they used to. It’s taking me far longer to fully master a short number of phrases, and it seems it should be far easier than it is! While the frustration mounts, it also makes me even more glad I put in all that time and effort when I was young and it was easy! But I persist and carve out time in a spare moment here and there, to practice and review, and to quiz my son.
As an Adventist, the idea of memorizing Scripture often had an undertone of fear and intrigue to it. The communicated thought was that one day, in the time of trouble, we would not have any Bible with us
As an Adventist, the idea of memorizing Scripture often had an undertone of fear and intrigue to it. The communicated thought was that one day, in the time of trouble, we would not have any Bible with us, and we would need to have Scripture memorized in order to “stand strong” and not deny the Sabbath. While it’s true that there may come a time where any of us may face extreme circumstances and be unable to access a physical (or digital) copy of our Bibles, I think the better motivation for taking time and intentionally memorizing Scripture is simply because it is good for our souls, no matter the circumstances.
We often hear the importance of regular (daily) time in Scripture and prayer spoken about in Christian circles. In my experience, however, having Scripture memorized is akin to having a Bible with me at all times, having the proximity and awareness of God’s word right there with me.
We live in a digital age in which we are accustomed to the world at our fingertips—an infinite dictionary, encyclopedia, takeout menu, grocery store, music library, and more,—right in the palms of our hands. That access feels “close”. It feels available. As we have learned to rely more on our portable “brains”, we exercise and “use” our own brain less and less. How many of us could recite our closest friends’ phone numbers, or an address, or someone else’s email? In some ways, this explosion of information access has made memorizing seem old school—nearly obsolete.
When I think of “spiritual disciplines” such as memorizing Scripture now, in my new heart, in light of the Gospel and what Jesus has done for me, what a joy it is to be ABLE to do these things. In our old lives, lives of “doing” to perfect behavior, memorizing was something that must be tackled in order to withstand the coming troubles. In our new lives, lives of “done” (because IT IS FINISHED!), we GET TO have the words of our Savior in our own minds and hearts. We GET TO carry His words with us, to let them live in our hearts and minds, and to guide our steps and our daily lives.
I sit here with a few tears in my eyes (which is common, it seems), as I ponder the privilege, and my heart feels the gratitude for the privilege we have to draw near to Him, to be WITH Him, and to have His word in a way that is only made possible through a new heart, one that is made alive through Christ. As we approach the Christmas season, where we celebrate Emmanuel, God WITH us, I hope you will join me in taking some time to hide His word in your heart, to keep it WITH you, and to celebrate the privilege and the joy of knowing Him.
I’ll leave you with the portion of this month’s passage I have memorized so far (I’ll type it without peaking, I promise!) Psalm 95:1-7a (so far):
Come, let us sing to the Lord
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving
Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Thank you, Jesus, for Your word, hidden in our hearts! †
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