21 Aug Staff Note – Lucy Collingwood: Remembrance
Lucy Collingwood has recently been appointed as Venn’s Hospitality and Events Coordinator. She is an alumna of the Residential Fellowship (2018/19) and has worked in business development and hospitality. Here, Lucy shares some reflections on remembrance.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes I will remember your wonders of old.”
Psalm 77:11
The last 10 days, particularly for those of us in Auckland, have dragged out memories of lockdown from the back room of our thoughts where we’d rather they’d stayed gathering dust. It has been uncomfortable. This year, I have felt the Holy Spirit’s quiet invitation to choose to remember in other ways; to actively recall and linger in stories.
In telling, listening to, and attending to my own stories and those of others, I’m drawn into the truth and goodness of God and into a posture of humility. This remembering has lifted my gaze toward that which is bigger than us and helped me see afresh God’s promises and prophecies of old–those fulfilled and those yet to come to pass. It stokes hope.
Remembering is an act of connection and community in partnership with the Holy Spirit, with those who have gone before us, those to come after us, and those around us. We are a part of a rich tapestry of faith and surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We can lean on the faith of those who have gone before us while we are yet to gain or regain our own faith. And we can intentionally be this source of encouragement and faith for those who will come after us. In Deuteronomy we read,
“Watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” (Deut. 4:9)
In the hustle of the day-to-day or in the aching lengths of silence and quiet, there is much we lose sight of. Our default is to forget. We need to hear again the stories of God moving in our lives and the lives of others. We need people to re-member us into the narrative we are a part of, re-member us into the presence of God, re-member us into the knowing and the trusting of God’s faithfulness.
That he is good.
He is most faithful.
He is creator, sustainer, and redeemer.
And he beckons us in.
In between the promise and the fulfilment is the waiting. And in the waiting, we must remember. May we be faithful to listen, strengthened to obey, and grateful in remembrance. There is power in remembering.
(Image: Venn Foundation)