Those Forgetful Moments

I officiated a wedding today, generally all went well until the end.  After the proclamation, where I say “I now pronounce you husband and wife”, I asked the congregation to pray for the couple, and right after that I announced that the service was over.  With the usual “God bless you all”, and “another round of applause for the newlyweds”, I officially ended the service.

As I was putting all my stuff together I saw the groom looking at me with a puzzled face, as if saying “It’s finished?  You didn’t forget anything?”.  I was about to tell him it was now the wedding planner’s turn to handle the picture taking when I heard someone from the congregation shout “you may now kiss the bride”!  Wow, I had forgotten the most awaited part of the whole ceremony!  Oh no, what a “50’s moment” that was!  Very quickly I jokingly said “I was just testing if you would remember”, and with a guilty smile on my face apologized to him, and quickly said “You may now kiss the bride”!

It’s a good thing it was taken very lightly by the congregation, who just laughed it off as a nice light comedy moment in the ceremony.  But, wow, I forgot the sweetest, most romantic, part of the ceremony – one that everyone, from the bride and groom to the congregation, wait for!  Anyway, I went down from the pulpit making a mental note – “I’m not going to forget that part again”! 

The story doesn’t stop there!  As I left the venue someone was standing at the gate and waved at me.  I approached him with a puzzled look on my face (it was my turn to use that look, ha ha), and he said “You don’t remember me?”.  Aaaargghhhh!  He looked so familiar, but the Pentium 1 processor in my brain was taking its sweet time searching its memory base as to who he was!  It’s a good thing he was kind enough to introduce himself, and even added a compliment that he was blessed by the wedding service.  Of course I had not seen him in years, but he did look very familiar, and I just couldn’t remember who he was right away.

Don’t you hate those forgetful moments?  They remind you of how old you already are.  Sigh.

I am thankful, though, that I don’t have to worry about that with my God.  Though He is the “Ancient of Days”, He does not, and will not, forget us.

Isaiah 49:15  "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

Here the Lord uses probably the most intimate and loving relationship in the world – that of a mother and child, to compare with His love for us.  But I’m sure we know of mothers who have abandoned their children, or who have forgotten about them.  But the Lord said “I will not forget you”.  As the famous Basil Valdez song says “Hindi kita malilimutan”.  That’s God’s promise.  It’s who He is.

There will be times when we will feel that maybe God has forgotten us.  But during those moments we’re the ones with the memory problem, not God.  We are the ones who forget what He promised, verses like the one above that assure us that our Lord will never forget.

Thank God He is God.