featuring the painting "Promises"

Because of the onset of a new set of symptoms, I had spent the last 6 weeks bedridden starting about 11:00 AM for the rest of the day. It was boring, unproductive, and scary.

We had a trip planned for a special celebration with our ‘ohana who live in Hawaii. The week before we traveled, I began to face the sad fact that I might not be able to go. The depth of my isolation and loss hit hard as I began to both grieve, and assess what I should do.

However, just a few days before travel, my doctor assured me, though terribly uncomfortable, it was safe for me to travel. So I went. The day arrived, and my symptoms hit again before we even left for the airport. The travel day was…

- the rest of the story -

...long, hard, and miserable. But I made it! I dropped into bed and slept more soundly than I had in a long time.

I awoke and was so worn out from the trip. I spent much of the day on the couch right next to an open window, breathing the fresh island air, mist occasionally coming through the screen and bathing my face. It had been a day of rainbows coming and going, but suddenly, right in front of me, was a huge rainbow. The sight took my breath away and then something happened I had never seen before.

The rainbow sat there, right in front of me, for over two hours! That’s right…TWO hours! The last six weeks I had spent all my effort and thoughts on just surviving each day, but the scents, the feel of the mist and the visual beauty drew my heart back to focusing on God instead of my circumstances. I thought a lot about His promises as I watched that rainbow. The memory of that day is so sweet, of course I had to paint it!

God’s promises speak to the very things we struggle with the most and one of those is feeling forgotten.

Difficult times often leave us isolated. Sometimes physically like being homebound or bedridden, but almost always relationally. We may have contact with others, but when we are struggling we naturally close down and withdraw. At the same time we usually hope someone will notice, and reach out to us. When they don’t, we feel forgotten.

Have you ever been forgotten? Being forgotten is a sinking feeling. It whispers, “unimportant”… “insignificant”… “unloved”.

I saw this poem on Instagram:

I think one of the most underrated feelings

Is being thought of.

Not being loved loudly,

Not being posted everywhere,

Just knowing

That somewhere in the middle of someone’s busy day,

You crossed their mind.

That they saw something and wanted to tell you,

that they heard a song and thought of you.

That they remembered a small detail about you

When everyone else forgot.

Because honestly,

Being remembered

Is one of the purest forms of affection.

~Unsaid Bonds

This is so true, isn’t it? “… being remembered is one of the purest forms of affection.” When we feel forgotten, it really hurts deep down inside.

God knew that we would all face difficulties and feel forgotten at times, and He addressed it with a promise. In Isaiah 49:15-16 he tells us that he will never forget us! He says, “See! I have your name engraved on the palms of my hands!” (NIV)

God has tattooed your name on his hand! He has tattooed my name on his hand! This is a promise I always turn to when those feelings of being forgotten creep up and surround me.

The obvious reason that being forgotten is a problem for us is addressed in the above poem. It’s because we all need to be loved. And that is the real issue God is addressing here. He is telling us that we belong to him and his love is so deep, there is nothing that can make him forget us.

I have a dear friend who taught me this verse. In fact, as a Bible teacher she taught it to many women in classes, conferences and Bible Studies. She is now in the later stages of Alzheimer’s and her family continues to tell me she holds her bible and expresses faith and praise. And I know why… it’s because she has clung to this and many other promises of God for many many years.

May we be people that cling to this promise of God just like my friend, taking comfort that even in the hardest of times, we have not been forgotten. We are each important enough to God, that our names are permanently written on His hand.

“See! I have your name engraved on the palms of my hands!”(NIV)