Not Overlooked

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Isaiah 49: 15

This text talks about a mother forgetting her child. Have you heard of the phrase: “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”? It describes how we often forget, especially if we do not see someone for a while. 

Let me tell you about my best friend in Elementary School. We were close friends for most of our elementary years hanging out in Park Town, just west of Laurel Homes in Cincinnati, messing around playing all kinds of sports at times getting into fights etc. After leaving from elementary, he moved to the suburbs near Aiken High School. I continued to live in the Laurel Homes, the west end of Cincinnati. Over the years, we would both be busy. I would talk with him less frequently and there would be periods where I forgot about him. I chose this example because we can wonder if God has forgotten about us. The context of the verse I shared earlier is the response from God when the Israelites thought God had forgotten them. Let me read it again: 

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

God’s response to their question of being forgotten is a question:
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

The mother is the most compassionate person to her child. It’s impossible for a mother to forget her baby. Perhaps only in some extreme situation that might happen. 
The text continues:
“Though she may forget, …” 

Let me read from a book that has an author’s sharing about life in a nursing home and feeling forgotten: 

Is it possible to be loved and forgotten at the same time?
Sometimes that's how I feel. Loved but forgotten, like a once cherished doll left on a top shelf. Outside my senior center, friends and family buzz from place to place. They have good intentions but their lives are crowded with jobs and soccer games, church events and fast food. It seems I am the last thing on their long to do lists.

I volunteer at Bethlehem Lutheran church; on Thursday evenings we have a ministry in which we feed the Homeless, spiritually with the word and with a meal. We also have a bible study, which is called “Salt”. Usually I pick up one of the attendee from an assisted living home for the service and bible study. One day it happened to be snowing pretty badly and I asked him if he wanted to say home. He said to me like he always does, “I must go to my church and worship God with the biggest smile on his face as he gets in the car “. His love for our church and enthusiasm was so God honoring. But then his sadness comes again once we return ,saying to me ,"come visit me some time". I said to myself, "I will, and I will not for get you". 

‘Stop me if I’ve told you this before,’ sound familiar, But for oral history, I will repeat the message above ,"Is it possible to be loved and forgotten at the same time? Sometimes that's how I feel. Loved but forgotten, like a once cherished doll left on a top shelf. Outside my senior center, friends and family buzz from place to place. They have good intentions but their lives are crowded with jobs and soccer games, church events and fast food. It seems I am the last thing on their long to do lists".

The author writes that the friends and family have good intentions but their lives are crowded with jobs, soccer, games, church events, and fast food. They have limited space in their hearts leading them to forget. Think about how often we forget about those in need.

Yet, unlike us, God does not forget. God says, “I will not forget you!” He did not forget about me even when I forgot about Him. In middle school, I attended church weekly, completed a bible course and was baptized. Yet, after a year, I did not see the need for God in my life. I stopped going to church and left the church. In the next nine years, God did not forget about me despite my choosing to forget about Him. He used people and circumstances to show me that He has not forgotten. He sent people to invite me back to church and used a low point in my life to bring me back to Him. After losing my starting job on the team and having most of my best friends move away after college, a teacher friend invited me to learn more about God. Through that invitation, I continued to learn more about God, decided to follow Jesus, and joined the church. God does not forget. 

Luke 12:6-7 reads:
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 

Though we forget, God never forgets us. This makes a big difference in our lives. 

God Bless You and This Ministry!