REMEMBER

If you buy yourself one meditation book for this year, buy Listening to Your Life - Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner. The entry for January 16th is posted here in its beautifully written entirety. It is one of my favorite passages from Buechner (originally from his book, Whistling in the Dark). Yes, I own all his non-fiction books and a wonderful DVD of two young journalists interviewing him at his home in Princeton. Everyone needs at least one spiritual mentor or two or three. He is one of mine.

Remember
"When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.

For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost. When I am feeling most ghost-like, it's your remembering me that helps remind me that I actually exist. When I'm feeling sad, it's my consolation. WHen I'm feeling happy, it's part of why I feel that way.

If you forget me, one of the ways I remember who I am will be gone. If you forget me, part of who I am will be gone.

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," the good thief said from his cross (Luke 23:42). There are perhaps no more human words in all of Scripture, no prayer we can pray so well."