Do You Remember?

The anniversary is a chance to take a step back and have a look at the year that has gone by and do a close-up analysis of your marriage. It gives you the chance to rekindle some of the flame that used to burn brightly. It gives you a chance to say you’re sorry about things that have gone wrong and it gives you a chance to escape the world and concentrate on one another completely for 24 hours. With modern day society being as hectic as it is, it is so easy to get lost in the everyday drama of work, meetings, children, colleagues and more. Far too many couples get “lost” along the way and the anniversary is the perfect opportunity to get things “back on track” at least once a year – Marrilyn (Travelling Bride).

photo: The Padang, S'pore (Nov 09)

Today is the anniversary of “Will you Be My Wife (BMW)?” proposal. My wife and I share the same belief that each and every anniversary deserves to be celebrated in a memorable way. Some friends are amazed that we actually remember our proposal date. A few, particularly the guys, may even ask why fuss over anniversary? Why do we need to remember dates in the first place? Well, a simple reason is when we celebrate our anniversary each year it is an annual renewal of our commitment to one another.

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In his sermon on The Importance of Remembering the Past, Bruce Goettsche notes as a nation, we have tried to keep our history alive through monuments. We have monuments to various wars. We have museums that contain artifacts that tell the story of the past. We place monuments in cemeteries and study family genealogical records, all in an attempt to keep our "history" alive. Similarly, God didn't just tell the Israelites to remember . . . He gave them aids to help them remember. In the biblical history of Israel, God made a habit of building monuments and establishing symbols that would keep his people informed. For example, He gave the rainbow to Noah; the rite of circumcision to Abraham; the sacrificial system & the required feasts, etc. And Jesus instituted Baptism and Holy Communion, commanding “This Do in Remembrance of Me.”

Goettsche went on to offer three reasons why we need to remember: (1) Because we have selective memory, (2) Because it reminds us of our blessings, and (3) Because it spurs us on and keeps us focused. Whilst his sermon focused on what remembering does for our spiritual lives, I feel that the same reasons apply to celebrating one’s proposal, engagement, or wedding anniversary.

Because we have selective memories: For the first point, he uses the following example to illustrate what he meant. When you are in a conflict with another person, what offenses do you remember most clearly? Your offenses, or the other person's? If you are like most people you remember what others did TO you while you spotlight what you did FOR the other person. We conveniently forget the things we did to provoke a conflict.

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Because it Reminds us Of Our Blessings. Isn't it a wonderful thing to page through a scrapbook or look at wedding pictures? Isn't it a precious thing to look through the photo albums and remember the people who have touched our lives and the events that enriched us? It's hard to look at those things and not be grateful for the blessings we've had.

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Because it Spurs Us On and Keeps us Focused. The whole point of remembering is to spur you on. Remembering your wedding vows helps you focus again on your commitment. Remembering how much it hurt to lose someone helps you cherish those you had taken for granted. Remembering how much a visit meant when you experienced loss will spur you on to make that difficult visit to a friend who is grieving. Remembering how scared you were when you were sick will help you to cherish the days you have.

In summary, when we forget the past we lose the anchor that keeps us from drifting. Just as God establish memorials to remind his people, celebrating our anniversary is establishing our own monuments of remembrance. For me and my wife, Nov 28 will be always be a special day! Because it is the day we committed ourselves and our future to each other… it is the day we agreed to be fellow pilgrims on this earth journey. And celebrating the anniversary reminds us of the circumstances, places and divine hand that brought us together.

So what did we do to celebrate our anniversary this year? We decided to break our normal routine and went on a date the whole day. Our date starts at Raffles City where we went shopping for a camera, tv and some gifts for her friends. Then, we had a relaxing lunch at a Japanese restaurant. After that, we took a stroll along memory lane – The Padang, the place where I went down on my knees to propose to her exactly 19 years ago. We went visited some art exhibitions at the City Hall before finding our way to Funan IT Mall where we had popiah and coffee.

At the mall, we bumped into a couple from church, who are also staying in our condominium. We had tea with them for an hour or so before making our way to Bistro 103 at Pasir Panjang for dinner - I found the casual bistro after googling on web as a follow up to my wife’s request to have BBQ ribs for dinner. The meal was nice and service was fast and good. We ended up chatting with the pleasant proprietor who readily gave us a 10% discount on hearing that it was our anniversary.

We didn't reached home till 9.00 pm. It was a long day but we had a wonderful time enjoying each other company. Below are the photos we took today (using the new camera) plus some old photos from the file.

Source: http://www.travellingbride.co.za/artickes-and-news/ ; Rev. Bruce Goettsche, LaHarpe, IL. 61450 www.unionchurch.com