God bless the 'blanks' in our lives

By REV. DR KNOX HERNDON
Pastor

I have my own theory about "forgetting." It has always been interesting to me that as one gets a little age on them that we are told that the short memory fades but the long-term memory gets better.

My father had the best memory of anyone I have ever known. He not only was a highly educated man, but he had a phenomenal memory. He loved history and especially American Civil War history. I can remember riding in the car with him when he would often pull the car off the road and stop to read a historical marker. He would then continue to tell us how this general or that commander brought his troops through the state on Sherman's march to the sea.

Dee and I were sitting at the military air terminal in Charleston, S.C., in 1976 on our way to our three-year tour in Berlin. Those were in the middle of the unstable Cold War years when the Berlin Wall was "in your face," alive, and well guarded on both sides. Mom and Dad had come to see us get on the big iron bird to fly to Germany.

In those pre-9/11 years, we all traveled in uniform, so I was sitting there with my name tag and my Chaplain crosses on my uniform when an old gentleman shuffled up to me and began to ask me questions. He looked me over, read my name tag and then asked if I had any family members who were "former chaplains." I smiled and pointed to my father who was sitting right next to me. The old gentleman smiled and looked at Dad and said, "You don't remember me do you?" Dad, if he wanted to see real well, would always take off his glasses. He took off his glasses and stared at the gentleman for about 30 seconds and then proceeded to quote his first and last name and the home town where the gentleman was born. I about fell off my perch.

Dad, as he got older, lost his eyesight to glaucoma and then lost the use of his old Army W.W.II Glider legs. The hardest part for me was to see that wonderful quick mind that God had given him be overcome by dementia. I heard him say once that he no longer could read God's Word due to his blindness, and had trouble hearing, but he would just place his hand on the cover of the Bible and "feel" its power. He was a true patriot and a Christian from the "greatest generation," as Tom Brokaw's book describes them.

Dad's generation stood for and died for a great America and their generation has proven it. I only hope as the history books are written about this present generation that something good will be said. This generation has been scarred by the Clintonites, impeachment, ACLU rulings, and the sellout by the Supreme Court rulings on the Gay movement to confuse and ruin your children.

By the way, this weekend in Montgomery, Ala., thousands of mostly Christians will be marching in support of Chief Justice Roy Moore who has refused to remove the Ten Commandments from the court house. God bless that man. I know the ACLU will be fighting him all the way. If you can't go down to Montgomery you can pray for him and the stand he is taking, He may have to do jail time for his stance. If so, I plan to visit him and have prayer with him.

Back to "forgetting" and the "blanks" in our lives. My theory is that as you age, your computer is "full" with more information because you have lived longer. It's not like you can go and have "more memory" installed or get a new "CPU" or a new "motherboard" - would that it were so! Thus, you FORGET or suffer BLANKS. Now you have a perfect scientific EXCUSE. Remember on!!

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is pastor of His House Community Church (SBC). The Rev. Greg Mausz is senior associate pastor. The Rev. Dr. Lydia Herndon is the Sunday School superintendent, Bible study coordinator and teacher. The church is just below Fayetteville, on Ga. Highway 85, a mile south of Ga. Highway 16, just below the fire station. Visitors welcome. Church office and prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail KHERN2365@aol.com. The church's new Web site is www.hishousecommunitychurch.com.