As November comes and goes with Remembrance Day and Christmas being the main holidays of these months, I've thought of the whole aspect of healing that comes through remembering. Some of the experts on grief have reminded me that the process of reembering can bring many healing qualities. It can heal us from major traumas and the hurtful things that take place in our lives on a regular basis, as well as hurts that simply come from living this life.
Psalm 105:1–4 (NIV) says, "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."
We can read verses such as this when Remembrance Day comes; we are reminded of the sacrifice that came from all the lives that were taken through the wars and conflicts that have taken place in all parts of the world. It's not just about saving one race of people or one social class of people. It's about how when wars take place, death will always follow. It's also about preservation of the nation where we live.
Remembering doesn't mean we will have no pain. It's about acknowledging what has taken place and allowing it to flow through our hearts and minds like a wave. When we remember in this way, we say, "Yes, it happened; but I'm still alive, and I'm still here. Let me continue to move forward with my life."
This way, we're not sticking our heads in the sand and letting ourselves go deep into depression. This wave of grief allows our hearts to heal because we do acknowledge that it took place in our lives. By remembering, we also keep the memory alive, which also speaks to our conscious and subconscious hearts and minds.
When we approach Christmas, we also remember. We remember that Jesus was born into this world. The holy scriptures say in Matthew 1:21 (NIV), "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." This was referring to all nations of the world-not just the nation of Israel, which the Old Testament speaks about. This points back to the Garden of Eden, when sin entered the DNA of every human being that is born.
After Jesus was born at Christmas time, He would die for our sins approximately 33 years later, during what is known as the Easter season. After Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He then rose again three days later. Yet, before he died on that blood-stained cross, He had what is known as the Last Supper. During this meal with His followers, He asked that this meal would be a regular type of remembering the new covenant that was made to save all people from their sins.
He appeared to His disciples and spent some time with them before going back to heaven to be with his heavenly Father. Then He also told them not to do anything until the Holy Spirit had been given to them. We all receive this Holy Spirit when we become believers in Jesus. This Holy Spirit helps us to heal with a supernatural power that we didn't have before we became believers in Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
Remembering acknowledges the past, no matter what it included. Remembering also helps set us in a forward direction, because after remembering, our hearts and minds will automatically think of the future based on what we remember about the past. This is the nature of healing in our hearts, and Remembrance Day and Christmas time do exactly that.
Dr. Parry Stelter resides on Treaty Six Territory, a traditional gathering place for Indigenous people, including the Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Haudenosaunee, Dene, Ojibway/ Saulteaux/Anishinaabe, Inuit and many others whose footsteps have marked and continue to mark these lands. To get ahold of him to be a speaker at a retreat or conference, email him at parrystelter@icloud.com.
