A Memorized Word

When I was seven years old, my Mother took my sister and me on Sunday evenings to the Pierce Chapel Church some miles from Waycross, Georgia.  It was my mother's stomping grounds when she was growing up.  It was also where my Daddy had only recently been laid to rest in the cemetery outside the church.  On those Sunday evenings the children were encouraged to share verses of Scripture memorized during the week.  A recited verse put a gold star on the chart up front by my name.   I liked getting gold stars so I learned some Scripture verses.    

Over the years I got away from the practice.  I learned some of the required ones like John 3:16 and Psalm 23, but mostly I depended on being able to find the verses I needed as I went along.  As I became an ordained person a lot of Scripture was put to memory not by intention, but by constant usage.  Practicing a discipline of memorizing Scripture just never seemed to be something which attracted me.   As I have gotten older, there has been some regret about that indifference to memorization.  It seems that it speaks to a loss of some important Words I could be carrying around with me instead of depending on the Book.  

A few weeks ago I broke with my old habits and put to memory the 150th Psalm.  It is a powerful word which centers of praising God.  Several times a day I have thought about this Psalm and recited it silently in my mind.  What a blessing it has been!  One of the times I often recite it is as I get in bed to go to sleep.  Going to the place where sleep invites me with these verses on my heart has proven to be a good discipline.  And, as I go through the day, there are numerous encounters with the Creation which have caused me to loudly proclaim this Word of praise.  As the Psalm says, "Praise the Lord!"