FEATURE: OUR FAVORITE NONPROFITS AND
HOW THEY’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Don’t Forget to
Remember
By by Kerry & Chris Shook
Most of us tend to narrate our lives in terms of the story lines playing out at any given moment.
Maybe it’s sports season for you right now, and your kids are involved in extra activities. Maybe you’re
going through an exceptionally busy period at work, and you’re in the midst of a big project that’s
occupying a lot of your time. Maybe you’re in the middle of a move—organizing the endless details, the
paperwork, the timing of buying and selling and packing and paying. I don’t know what you’re facing.
But if somebody asked you what was going on in your life today, your answer, if you felt like getting
into it, would probably involve your current list of activities, both the good and the not so good. We
think our actions are our story. That’s the story we think we’re telling.
In fact, what we’re living out each day are our relationships with the Lord. All the other things—the
struggles and the successes, even your weekend plans and the fun stuff—are the scenery, the backdrop
against which the real story of your life is being told. The larger narrative is always what’s happening
between you and God and how your relationship with Him is either growing or receding—developing
either more closeness or more distance, more freedom or more distrust—within the context of this
particular stage of your life.
So think with me for a minute about how relationships work—whether it’s a marriage, friendship, or
relationship between parent and child. You can probably recall a number of big moments or markers
that have contributed to the overall character of your relationships. In reflecting on some of the most
important people in your life, perhaps you could point to a few major events—equivalent to the Jordan
River crossing—that have helped create the shared lore of those relationships.
But those moments are the exceptions. They’re not really what fosters the tenderness or strength of
your personal bond. Relational trust is built not on the basis of two or three unforgettable days but on
those hundreds and thousands of ordinary days when you have demonstrated love and care for each
other. It turns out that the little things are the big things.
Think of the person you trust most in this world. Based on all your hundreds or thousands of
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