Memory and Meditation

Here is a true story about the value of memorizing and meditating on scripture--and of the power of music to aid in learning. My memory work for this month is I Corinthians 13. Going over the verses again, I remembered this story that I wrote for a devotional book a few years ago.*

I lived on a quiet street and enjoyed a good relationship with my neighbor. We shared produce from our gardens and tips about growing peonies. When I learned that she had lied to me about a community issue, however, interactions became strained. Working in my yard one day, I seemed to feel her eyes watching me.

I wanted to shoot angry looks her way, make her sorry for her deceitfulness. But I had been sharing Christ with my neighbor; I needed to demonstrate his love. Struggling with my emotions, I remembered a song my children had learned in Vacation Bible School. It was an adaptation of I Corinthians 13: “Love is patient; love is kind; . . . Love is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrong.” Singing the song to myself, I waved and smiled and kept pruning the shrubs.

Months later, my neighbor approached my car as I pulled to a stop in the driveway. “I got baptized this weekend,” she said. “I thought you’d like to know.”

Thank God for His word, for those who encourage us to learn it, and for Vacation Bible School songs!

--Sherry Poff

*Love is a Verb Devotional, Gary Chapman with James Stuart Bell. Bethany House, 2011.