Take Two

Well. I'll try again! I wrote this last night and hit "publish" and it didn't. I thought it was saved, and it wasn't. Oh well....

Back in 1974, I lived aboard base housing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There wasn't too much to do there, but listening to music was possible--through the AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service). If I remember correctly, it consisted of various programs, probably taped, of various DJs throughout the States.

The only one I recall was Charlie Tuna, and the only reason I remember him was because of his theme song (at least, I think it was his theme song). To this day, I don't remember who performed it or even its title, but it was catchy--and every so often, it pops in my mind and I find myself humming bits and pieces of it.

Yesterday, while I was checking out at our local Walmart, what do youi think was playing over the Walmart radio? It was that song--I hadn't heard it since 1974! Yet I able to recall the whole song (except the author and title, of course).

The mind is an amazing thing--I wasn't trying to remember that song, but there it was! It had been there the whole time. Once the song started to play, I remembered the rest of it. Not trying to remember, not trying to repress, it was just there.

Satan can work the same way, you know. We become Christians, and we know that God forgives. But every so often, out of the blue, past sins come to mind--what we did, the guilt, the shame, the dread, the accusing voice. We weren't trying to dredge them up, but the memory of them is still there. So we pray, confess (again),and move on--until one day, there they are again.

How amazing, then is our God! Not only does he forgive our sins, he is able to, and chooses to, forget them! That's part of the promise given in the new covenant written in Jeremiah 31:34, where God says, "I will forgive their wickedness, and I wll remember their sins no more." Forgive and forget? Maybd impossible for us, but not for our Father!