Hidden in My Heart

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog post. My apologies. I believe it’s called “bloggers suicide” when you skip out on blogging for months on end. I’d love to give you some valid reason for my absence but truthfully it’s a combination of a little bit of writer’s block, a little bit of “too busy,” and a little bit of lazy. But, I’m back and I appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts. I’ve got lots of things stored up in my brain to share with you. Hopefully I’ll remember them all long enough to get it into words. Here’s what’s on my mind today.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for – the evidence of things unseen.” I was talking to a friend last week and she was trying to tell me this verse in relation to our topic of the moment. She couldn’t pull it up from the back roads of her mind and I was shocked when it came out of my mouth. Why would I be shocked, you wonder? Because, I’ve never knowingly set out to memorize this verse. I guess I’ve just heard it and seen it enough times to have memorized it. Sadly, the only reason I can tell you it’s from Hebrews 11:1 is because I’ve since looked it up. I always find it funny that the verses that I know by heart always seem to be from the King James Version. I haven’t read the KJV in 25 years!

I love how the Lord allows me to pull up Bible verses from the recesses of my brain when I need them. Imagine how many more I could pull up if I actually made a plan to memorize some verses. I’ve heard stories of people held prisoner and not being allowed to have a Bible but the verses that they had memorized through the years, got them through their challenging time.

So why don’t I have more verses memorized? I’ve always thought it would be prudent to have some verses at the ready. I’ve even been convicted by Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

The truth is, I haven’t tried very hard to memorize scripture because it’s hard and I’m not good at it. Lame excuse, I know. And, whenever my grandson declares he can’t do something because “it’s hard”, I look at him and say, “You know what? You can do hard things.” It’s possible that he and I have the same issue—we don’t want to do it if we can’t do it perfectly.

I met a 93-year-old woman last week that came with her son to our church small group. She was one of those women whom I wish I could spend hours with just learning from her years of wisdom. At least three different times during our discussion, she quoted a Bible verse from memory. I finally looked at her and said, “Do you have the WHOLE Bible memorized?” She claims she doesn’t but I wouldn’t be surprised if she really did right down to the “who begat whom”.

So, maybe it’s time I start trying again. My 93-year-old friend suggested I start by picking a verse from my daily reading time, writing it out and posting it in 5 – 6 places throughout my house, in my car, and any other place I’ll see it frequently. That might work—if I follow through and actually do it. I also downloaded the“Scripture Typer” app to my phone last year. It’s a great program, I’m told, but I might need a little help with the directions. Nothing comes with directions anymore!

Do you have a scripture memory plan that works for you? If so, would you help a girl (or an old lady, as the case may be) out and share your memory plan with me? I think I’ll start with this one:

Psalm 119:114 “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” 

I know it’s short, but I thought it best to set myself up for success for my dive back into memorization. Want to join me?