Known & Loved

With Thanksgiving🍂 behind us and Remembrance Day inching closer with each passing sunrise, I’ve found myself stirred to reflect on something—something I’ve been struggling to hold onto: the power of remembering.

We all have something to be thankful for. Even on the days when life feels like it’s unraveling at the seams—when the to-do list is untouched, the news is heavy, and your heart feels heavier still—there’s breath in our lungs. There’s food on some of our tables. There’s shelter, even if it’s imperfect. And if we pause long enough, there’s always something in the present moment to whisper thanks for.

But what about the days when gratitude feels like a foreign language? When we’re too tired, too discouraged, or too numb to name a single blessing? That’s where gratitude journaling—or what I like to call “miracle journaling”—becomes a lifeline. It’s not just a trendy habit. It’s a spiritual discipline. A way to anchor ourselves in the truth of what God has done, especially when our feelings forget. But maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself…

Let’s be honest: forgetfulness is practically stitched into our DNA. I don’t know about you, but my memory is… well, let’s just say it’s not award-winning. Tell me something important at work, and if I don’t write it down, it’s likely gone by the time I hit the front door. Turns out, I’m not alone. According to research from Work-Learning, people can forget up to 94% of what they learn depending on various factors. Ninety-four percent! The National Library of Medicine even notes that our brains are wired to forget—sometimes for our protection. If we remembered every detail, our minds would be cluttered with noise.

But God knew this. He knit us together in our mother’s womb, after all (Psalm 139). He knew our tendency to forget, and that’s why Scripture is filled with one repeated command: remember.

Remember when He saved you from that near-accident. When the tree fell just inches from your home. When you passed that exam everyone said was impossible. When you were drowning in anxiety and a verse popped up on your feed like a lifeline. When you woke up with a song in your heart that you didn’t put there. These moments—big and small— whatever they be for you, are divine fingerprints. But if we don’t write them down, if we don’t rehearse them, we risk losing them to the blur of time.

And this isn’t just a modern problem. Forgetfulness runs through the pages of Scripture like a cautionary tale:

• Adam and Eve forgot God’s goodness and chose the fruit over His friendship. We still experience the results of this one today.
• Noah, after surviving the flood, forgot God’s righteousness and protection and ended up drunk and exposed.
• Abraham, weary of waiting, forgot God’s promise and tried to force the outcome—leading to generations of conflict.
• The Israelites, despite walking through parted seas and eating bread from heaven, forgot the God who delivered them. Deuteronomy 32:18 says, “You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
• David, the man after God’s own heart, forgot his calling and fell into sin that shattered his family.

These aren’t just stories. They’re mirrors. And they remind us that forgetting God’s faithfulness can lead us down paths we never were meant to walk.

That’s why God doesn’t just suggest we remember—He commands it. Not for His sake, but for ours. Because remembering gives us courage when fear knocks. It gives us peace when the future feels uncertain. It gives us hope when the night is long.

Here are some verses that call us back to remembrance—each one a lifeline, a whisper from God saying, “Don’t forget who I am. Don’t forget what I’ve done.”

• “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” —Isaiah 46:9
• “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” —Psalm 77:11
• “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” —Psalm 143:5
• “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” —Psalm 103:2
• “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.” —Deuteronomy 32:7
• “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen… Make them known to your children and your children’s children.” —Deuteronomy 4:9
• “Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.” —Psalm 105:5
• And this promise: “He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.” —Psalm 111:4

So write it down. Speak it out. Tell your kids. Tell your friends. Tell your siblings. Tell your future self.

Because remembering now will give you strength for tomorrow.

As one inspired writer once said, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”

Let’s not forget.

Let’s remember—and live like we remember.

And as a final note, here’s where the pen becomes a weapon against forgetfulness.

Writing it down—yes, actually journaling the moments when God shows up—can be one of the most powerful spiritual tools we have. When we record the blessings, the breakthroughs, the quiet whispers of hope, we’re building a personal altar of remembrance. Just like the Israelites stacked stones after crossing the Jordan (Joshua 4:6–7), our journals can become monuments to God’s faithfulness—visible, readable reminders for the days when our hearts forget.

You don’t need fancy words or perfect grammar. Just honesty. Just moments. Just a sentence that says, “God met me here.”

Because when the storm hits, and it will, you’ll have pages to flip through that say, “He was faithful then. He’ll be faithful now.”

Scripture echoes this practice:

• “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered…” —Exodus 17:14
• “Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.’” —Habakkuk 2:2
• “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.” —Psalm 102:18
• “These things I remember as I pour out my soul…” —Psalm 42:4

So grab a notebook. Open a note on your phone. Start a “God’s Faithfulness” file. However you do it, just start. Because what you write today might be the very thing that carries you—or someone else—through tomorrow.

Just taste and see, keep your eyes and heart open, and remember.