Tonight is a little embarrassing for me. Back on May 20th, I wrote a post during one of my trips to Dallas about how a client had assigned me an email account so that I would look more like part of the organization. I received notice that I had an “original” password that I was prompted to change on May 20th. To cut to the chase, I was unable to be in the office and change the password on-site, which is their security protocol. So I asked a co-worker who I trusted to change the password for me.
He was agreeable to the idea and although he is something of a detail oriented project manager, he showed his sense of humor by assigning me the password, “Janet4ever.” In his own inimitable way, he was affirming that he recognized that Janet and I are a team and throughout the time we have worked together, he understands the way that Janet and I roll. He told me that he picked the password so that he could be assured that I would never forget it – after all, in about a month, Janet and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage.
The last two months everything has been going great with the account. Well, that is, until this past week-end. Sometime during the week-end, my email stopped working. I tried everything I knew to get it going but I just couldn’t get the account to work. I started to inquire about filing a help desk ticket to get to the root of the problem but my co-worker let me know that since I was still receiving mail on my iPhone, there must be a problem with my computer. I deleted the account and re-entered it. Everything was going fine until it was time to enter my password. You know what? I COULDN’T REMEMBER IT! I kept typing the “original” password but apparently I never took the time to record the new password my co-worker got for me – Janet4ever….
So I spent the entire week-end frustrated that I couldn’t get my mail. Then Sunday evening, I received a text asking me if I had tried “Janet4ever” – sure enough, it worked and the account came back online. The bigger issue is how I could ever forget such a personal password – especially one that was given to me with so much fanfare. But it happened – and I’m not kidding.
It occurs to me that, as embarrassing as this was for me, this was a great lesson. First of all, I recorded it although I am sure that I will have to change it today or tomorrow as the expiration date is coming up. Next, it occurs to me that if I can forget that, I can forget anything and now that I think about it, there are times that I forget about putting God first. I really must keep that in my top of mind awareness. And I’m probably not alone in this. I know plenty of people who remember God on Sunday but tend to forget about Him on Monday. And that just doesn’t work for those of us who are Christ followers.
The verse for tonight is one that every Jewish person knows from the book of Deuteronomy – the Shema. We are told, in Deut. 6:4-9, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”
By following these instructions, the people of God were not likely to forget the commandments of God. My encouragement this evening is to make sure that you realize how important it is to keep God on your mind – constantly. My prayer is that you will find this the most noble thing you can do as you go about your daily life. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…