Burned in Memory

Ever have one of those things happen that it so engrained in your memory that your can't forget the date it happened? Things like, "what were you doing on September 11, 2011?"

One such occasion for me was January 28th, 1986. We were in process of moving to Haiti after living in Alabama for several years. We had rented a U-haul to bring our belongings down to West Palm Beach. We had wanted the smallest truck they had. The local dealer was a fellow from our church. There were none of the smallest trucks in stock so he let us rent what he did have for the same price—it was a 24-foot truck—one of those old stick-shift trucks with a huge horizontal steering wheel. On the way down, we had to stop at an insepction station in Florida. When we opened up the truck, the inspector gave us a weird look—our things did not even completely cover the floor of the truck!

The House we Left in Alabama

We brought our belongings to the air terminal to be loaded onto the plane. Then we rented a car to enjoy the sights of Florida for a couple of days. We had reserved a small car and ended up with some fancy, bright red sports car. I almost crashed it leaving the parking lot. I had just driven the large truck and now I was now in a small car with a tiny, vertical, very responsive steering wheel. Instead of needing to put some effort into a large spin of the steering wheel like in the truck, all I needed was just a tiny movement in the the steering wheel to make my turn onto the highway—and I almost drove into the barrier on the side of the road instead.

Our flight was scheduled for January 26. We got to the airport early in the morning to board the DC-3 operated by Missionary Flights International for the 4-hour or so flight to Port-au-Prince. It was gearing up to be an eventful day in the skies over Florida, as the space shuttle was set to take off that same day carrying its first civilian crew member—Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher from New Hampshire—the same state where I attended university just a few years earlier.

In the Air Approaching Haiti in the DC-3

We arrived at Port-au-Prince International airport about noon. After clearing through immigration and customs, we were met by Betty Turnbull, one of the missionaries working for the Baptist Haiti Mission. One of the first things out of her mouth was, "the Space Shuttle exploded."

It was so surreal. Here we were, excited to begin the next adventure in our lives. Yet on the same day in the same skies not far from where we were, it was a tragic ending for the seven-person crew of the space shuttle. That date became locked in my memory, and every year on January 28, I remember back to that day.

I don't know why it is that our brains can remember some things so well and other things, which may be more important, get lost in the gray matter. I always figure there are only two dates I really need to remember: our anniversary and my wife's birthday. I can also remember my own birthday, which is a good thing, because I often don't remember my current age off-hand, so I often have to calculate it.

And I do remember what I was doing on September 11, 2001 as well—not that it's important, I just do. A bunch of us soil scientists from California were in Davis for meetings and we were all staying at the same hotel. I went downstairs for breakfast and saw many of my fellow pedologists were in the bar—which seemed like an odd place to be, because that is not where breakfast was served. All eyes were glued to the television, watching the events unfold on the east coast. That, too, was surreal, because as awful as it was for those experiencing it, our lives went on more or less as normal, though I think we may have started our meetings a bit late that day.

As I get older, I cherish memories, good or bad, a bit more. In all of our moving, we have thrown away or given away much of the memorabilia we acquired over the years that had served as a reminder of our previous experiences. So it is fun to look at old pictures to remember the things that went on in our past that have made us what we are today. And also, in looking back, we have seen how God has been faithfully at work in our lives. This can help us in the present when difficult circumstances arise as the God who was with us then is still with us now.

Even in scripture, we see how God commands the Israelites to do certain things to help them remember His faithfulness to them. For example, Passover was implemented to remind them how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:14). When the Israelites arrived in the Promised Land, God had them put up a pile of stones to help them remember how they got there with His help. (Joshua 4:7) And for those of us who believe in Jesus, Communion is a time for us to remember how Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24, 25)

One of the last things I got rid of before we came to Thailand was a special file folder. This folder contained all the donor statments from the time we lived in Haiti. I never really looked inside it, I just wanted to keep it so I wouldn't forget how God had faithfully provided for us during our time in there. Every once in a while I just looked at the folder and thought, "the same God who provided for us in the past will provide for us in the future."

January 28th is a date burned in my memory. On this day I am reminded to remember the faithfulness of God.