People are important!

I'm sitting in Taco Bell in Ft. Smith, Arkansas drinking Mountain Dew and writing a quick note. We saw the "Free WIFI!" sign, so we ran over here. My brother-in-law, Scott and I are sitting at a table with our "dueling computers" so we can communicate with the "outside world." Joye and I are taking a week to visit with her family. It's the first time in over 10 years Joye has been with both of her brothers at the same time. Here's a photo of the three siblings with their mom:

Family is important, and it's been a great visit....listening to stories of their childhood, the trouble they got into, the things they did together and to each other. Over and over their mom would say, "I didn't know you did that!" It was fun.

As I think about our time here I'm also reading 1 Chronicles. It's a hard book to read for the first 11 chapters because it's the Chronicle of Israel's history. Here's a short sample:

1Ch 1:1 Adam, Seth, Enosh,
1Ch 1:2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared,
1Ch 1:3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech,
1Ch 1:4 Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
1Ch 1:5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
1Ch 1:6 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Diphath, and Togarmah.
1Ch 1:7 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Rodanim.
1Ch 1:8 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

It's funny how a passage of scripture will fit with a time in life. Here we are with people who are important to us, but no one else would know them if they passed them on the street. In this brief passage, which is rather boring really, is a list of people just like us who lived their lives, loved their families, told stories on each other and have now been all but forgotten except for their names written in the text of the Bible. People are important, but not for the reason most of us think. People are important because they are important to God. To God the value of each name, each person is priceless and is never forgotten. Although I will be all but forgotten to those living 100 years from now I will never be forgotten by God. He remembers every name, every life. Their stories, their sorrows and joys matter to him.

So, having written this I plan to slow down a little as I read 1 Chronicles. A list of names and lives I will never know, yes.....but lives that matter to God and have not been forgotten, absolutely! Amazingly it's reassurance to me that I am not forgotten by my creator either. I don't need to leave a memorial of my life, put my name on buildings, make sure I'm not forgotten....God will remember, and that's enough for me.