Not Just For Children

 All across social media there are posts about field day and graduation and other end-of-the-school-year activities. Memorial Day weekend is just ahead. That means Vacation Bible School is not far behind!

As a child, I looked forward to Vacation Bible School every year. In my church, VBS was a two-week long event, Monday through Friday mornings, 3 hours each morning. We began by lining up by age groups on the church lawn and walking quietly into the sanctuary. There we had pledges, accompanied by the stand up and sit down chords. 

VBS also meant crafts and missionary stories and snow cones. But the thing that sticks with me most about VBS is Scripture. Memorizing God's Word. Many of the verses I memorized in VBS as a child are still with me. Like this one:

"Thy Word I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:11 KJV)

Sadly, those of us who are no longer children have the idea that memorizing Scripture is something we are no longer able to do. While I agree that it might not be as easy as it was when we were children, I disagree that this is something we can't do. I think we confuse can't with don't want to make the effort. 

Memorizing Scripture takes effort. It is a discipline. And, like so many of the other I can'ts in life, it begins with a decision.

We say I can't lose weight, and we can't, until we make a decision to pay attention to how much we eat, and what we eat, and when and why.

We say I can't exercise (or walk or run), and we can't, until we make the decision to get off the couch, turn off the TV, and actually get moving, even for a short distance.

We say I can't drink that much water every day, and we can't, until we make the effort and actually put water in a glass and start drinking it.

We say I can't memorize Scripture, and we can't, until we actually make an effort. That starts with choosing a verse or passage to memorize, and taking steps to memorize it.

In VBS, when I was a child, we memorized verses (or passages like Psalm 24) by repetition. By breaking it down into smaller sections. By saying it out loud. 

The easiest way for me to learn a passage in this season of my life is to read it over and over again. The more I read it, the more it sticks with me. Sometimes I practice copying it. (That's a trick I learned in rehab when I was learning to read and write again.) I practice saying it out loud. I do it several times a day. 

There are all sorts of "memory tricks" to help you remember things. Find what works for you. And then do it.

And it all starts with a decision. A decision to memorize some Scripture. Because Scripture memory is not just for children.