Push Pins

I sit at my desk in my kitchen and write each day.
There is a bulletin board in front of me.
Dentist appointments, physicals, hair cut appointments, invitations.
Push pins.

Without my push pins, none of the reminders would stay up.
My push pins are an invaluable tool.

How we need our reminders.
We need prompts to help us remember.
Not remembering has less to do with aging…and more to do with distraction.

In C.S. Lewis’ book, The Silver Chair, part of the Narnia series, there is an important conversation between Aslan and a young girl, Jill Pole.
Jill and her friend, Eustace Scrubb are in Aslan’s country.
She is perplexed as to how she and Eustace got to this place.

“I was wondering…I mean…could there be some mistake? Because nobody called me and Scrubb, you know. It was we who asked to come here. Scrubb said we were to call to…to Somebody…it was a name I wouldn’t know…and perhaps the Somebody would let us in. And we did, and then we found the door open. “

”You would not have called to Me unless I had been calling you,” said the Lion.

“Then You are the Somebody, sir?”, said Jill.

“I am.”

Aslan gave Jill a task…to seek the lost Prince.
She will be guided in her quest by the Signs He will teach her.

Aslan told Jill the Signs she was to remember and asked her to repeat them.
But she didn’t get them quite right.
The Lion corrected her and made her repeat them again and again until she could say them perfectly.

“Remember, remember, remember the Signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the Signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the Signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the Signs and believe the Signs. Nothing else matters.”

The further Jill got from Aslan’s country, the harder it was for her to remember the Signs.

We have the same problem.

You leave church after a wonderful worship service.
The sermon was wonderful.
The music filled with joyful praises.

You get out in the parking lot and someone cuts in front of you as you are driving out.
You think about all you have to do…and how there is not enough time to do it.
You take back a problem you handed over to Him this morning.

The air is thickening.
Your mind is not clear.
Everything you learned seems to be running through your fingers like sand.

Remember the Signs.
What signs?

Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Revelation 3:3)

We have Truth…the Word of God.
We need to rehearse it…memorize it…know it…defend it.
The Word will be challenged…mocked…ridiculed…thrust behind our backs.
All for the sake of appearances.

But there was some trouble in Jill’s mind, though she could not think what it was, and the tears streamed down her face and wet the pillow. The Lion told her to repeat the Signs, and she found that she had forgotten them all.

We need to rehearse the Signs and tell them to ourselves.
The Signs will not be popular.
The Signs are not the opinion of the majority.
The Signs will divide and be a source of contention.
The Signs may put us on the opposite side of most of the people in Narnia.

The world likes to breathe the thick air of Narnia.
We, who are in Christ, desire only to breathe the clear air of Aslan’s country.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

Have courage.
Do you hear the Lion roar?

Remember the Signs.
Believe the Signs.
Nothing else matters.

 

2 responses to “Push Pins”

1. I LOVE this mom! Such a great reminder!!!

   Reply

   • I love it, too, Claire.
     It is one of my favorite passages from the Narnia books.
     I remember reading these books to all of you…
     How I love you!
     MOM

     Reply