When I saw my friend, I saw something in her hands that totally caught me by surprise. She had a cup of coffee in a lovely YETI. I too had a cup of coffee in my hands, but no YETI. Don’t get me wrong, I do own a YETI, but it was at home, in a drawer.
Out of sight, out of mind. Like, really out of mind, to the point that I didn’t even remember I owned a YETI. The revelation that I had an honest to goodness YETI at home arrested me. How could I forget that?
Around Christmas time, I got a box delivered to my home. Inside was a deep periwinkle blue YETI. It was a thank you gift from an organization. I was taken aback that they sent me such a nice mug! YETIs are expensive and I wouldn’t have purchased one for myself. Over the years, I’ve been given many, many cups, mugs, and thermoses, but never a YETI. Even though I was pleased and excited to own a YETI, it didn’t fit in on my coffee cup shelf. There was however, room in my snack drawer. This would be the same snack drawer that I stayed out of for the entire month of January for My January Rest—because—I wasn’t snacking.
I wasn’t snacking, so I wasn’t in the drawer, and because I wasn’t in the drawer, I didn’t see the YETI. Or the stash of chocolates I hid—please don’t tell where I hide my chocolates.
The amazing part of this story isn’t that I hide my chocolate. Or that I have a real YETI (although I think it is kind of cool), but that seeing a YETI reminded me of what I already have. Lights came on.
Oh, how leaky I am—I leak good stuff out—like a cup full of something warm and satisfying that has a hole in it. I hold good and precious things, but they leak out! Or like remembering the YETI, something good and precious, or even practical and necessary gets put away into a compartment of my brain, and I don’t even remember it.
That is why I need reminders.
My favorite reminders are the two-legged versions, especially the two-legged versions that have two-legged teens. Or those who have survived teens, because they remind me I can too. They know what I need to be reminded of, that we will survive these tumultuous trials intact.
Often, they remind me of what is good: those things that are excellent, pure, true, noble, right, praiseworthy, admirable, and lovely. I need someone to open the compartment so I can remember the gifts. They remind me of what I believe, when I’ve grown weary of the fight. They remind me to fight, when I’ve grown weary and they remind me that they are there, and that they are not going anywhere. They remind me.
When I have soul-amnesia, they remind me of who I am and of who God says I am. They remind me that someone believes in me, sees the best in me, and loves me when I am unlovely. They remind me that even when I forget things, I am not forgotten.
And God never forgets me. He never forgets you. For those called by His name, He only “forgets” about our sins and our debt, but reminds us that He loves us, adores us, is for us, and made a way for us.
I love how in one second, He can let me see a YETI and immediately see the power of friendships—whether a gentle refreshing or the force of a raging river. Friendships provide the power to stand firm, let go, aim high, and bow low.
Father, thank you for friendships. Your very triune-being is a blessed friendship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You live in perfect intimacy with each other. And, you love so much, you created us and invited us into the circle. You call us friends! Help us to be friends to each other. Help us remind each other of what we often forget, those things that are good and precious, or even practical and necessary. Bring us a friend, a messenger to show us our YETIs—those good gifts, that we already have, that we have forgotten. In Jesus name, amen.
Uncovered 