FORGETTABLE

With blue as my favorite color, it's a “given” that forget-me-nots land in my list of flower “likes.” Until an internet search, I never thought much about their history and symbolism. Their botanical name derives from the Greek words for “mouse” and “ear,” as the leaves resemble a mouse's ear. One old German folktale claims a knight wearing armor was strolling with his lady friend along a riverbank where the tiny flowers grew. In his clumsy effort to pick some for her, he fell in the water. As the river swept him away—unable to swim because of his armor—he allegedly cried out to his lady, “Forget me not!” I'm not sure how true that tale is, but it's interesting. 

In general, forget-me-nots are said to symbolize faithful love, fidelity, remembrance, memory, humility, resilience, and desire for loyalty. As such, they're connected with memorials and fallen war soldiers. England's King Henry IV adopted them as his personal emblem. They were also Princess Diana's favorite blooms, with many planted in her honor at London's Kensington Palace. In some cultures, the flower seeds are given to friends and family to plant in memory of a lost one.

Such history adds a deeper level to the “forget” scriptures I cherish in scripture. They include Philippians 3:13-14: One thing I do: Forgetting that is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

These verses remind me that God knows all, but in graciousness can put that “remembering” aside out of His incomprehensible love. For someone who comes to realize he or she is guilty of multiple and deep sins, the extent of God's grace can restore hope. Many years ago, I was called to the apartment of a sobbing young Christian woman who gave in to her boyfriend's demand for premarital sex. Her guilt over losing her virginity was almost unbearable. The verses that came to mind to share with her (regarding confession and forgiveness) were these:

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him; As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgression from us. (Psalm 103:10-11) 

I know of folks who abuse this scripture. They think, “I'll give in, just this time, then ask the Lord to forgive me. Easy-peasy.” But that's trifling with the holiness and mercy of God.

The other side of the “forgiveness” coin is when someone sins against us, then tries to cover over the offense with a lame apology. It doesn't seem fair to the person who was wounded. But the deeper truth is that God sees every hard-to-forget wounding. In her book Hurt People Hurt People (Discovery House, 2001, p. 208), therapist and author Dr. Sandra Wilson observed: 

Forgiveness is not letting someone “get away” with sin; it's letting Jesus be the judge of it. Forgiving means placing the sins and the sinners into the nail-scarred hands of the only One qualified to judge. In doing so, we are released from the bondage of bitterness that comes after our repeated attempts to exact justice have failed.

And maybe it's appropriate that the clumped blue forget-me-nots are so tiny. The offenses we endure, though big in our minds, are tiny in comparison with the world-heavy sin-burden that Jesus bore on a crude cross. For them. But, more important, for me.

FIRST THINGS

Under the category “New Year,” many traditional hymnals include one titled “Another Year is Dawning.” Its lyrics were composed by a modest, behind-the-scenes Britisher named Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879). Daughter of an Anglican clergyman, she lost her mother when only eleven years old. But poetry that honored God stirred within her, and she'd write the lyrics to some 100 hymns, including the better-known hymn of consecration, “Take My Life and Let It Be.” And that is how she lived—a lifelong single—letting God live within her until her early death at age 42.

The “New Year” hymn begins like this: Another year is dawning! Dear Master, let it be,/In working or in waiting, another year with thee./Another year of leaning upon thy loving breast,/Of even-deepening trustfulness, of quiet, happy rest.

I've never been much for staying up on New Year's eve until the clock struck twelve. Maybe it's weariness from all the consumerism that has come to characterize the whole Christmas season and how alcohol seems to reign in the holiday partying. Give me instead a cup of warm cocoa and a quiet place to think about the past and anticipate what God has planned for the future.

Maybe we can learn a thing or two from Jewish culture. Their “new year” celebration, “Rosh Hashanah,” one of seven Jewish “feasts,” is one of three in the autumn. The name comes from the command to blow trumpets, and traditionally the shofar (made from a ram's horn) sounds the call to pause and examine one's life before God.

And isn't that the meaning behind the Lord's Supper (“communion”) in Christian churches? And when “communion” is scheduled for late New Year's Eve, or even at midnight, a reverent, humble attitude toward God is a lot more meaningful than some huge glittering ball dropping above a crowd of revelers in an alcohol-fueled environment. It's not about the calendar going from one numbered year to another. It's about what the apostle Paul called “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” And in doing to, to “press on toward the call to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13b-14).

Or, as Miss Havergal put it, a fresh opportunity for “ever-deepening trustfulness, of quiet, happy rest.”

Join a congregation in singing this hymn:

Anotheryear is dawning - Bing video