Remember

Remember…

Slippers and a rolled-up towel.

Dollar coins and a movie stub.

A receipt.

A Post-It note.

My pockets emptied of these things I leave behind, I step into the rushing froth.
A sparkling pool forms at my feet with coarse sand filling the gaps between my toes.

Warm beams of the setting sun shine on me, surrounding me in a blanket of orange.
The wild salt settles on my face with the gushing east wind ruffling my hair.

I close my eyes and listen…

The mighty ocean rumbles and its waves crash into the rocks; the trees dance and rustle their leaves to the tune of the wind; seagulls squabble over a fisherman’s dropped bait; children laugh and families chat; a vessel bellows as if expressing his satisfaction over a hard day’s work; a busker earning his keep with a fiddle and a pipe.

And through it all, I hear the beating of my heart and I remember…

I remember blessings past— where playful banter and exposed secrets filled the air with melodies and whispers. I remember ice-cream and strawberries, seafood and wine; fireworks and stars, chilly nights and busy mornings; phone calls and cards, books and poems. I remember honesty and openness, friendship and love.

I remember.

But a voice calls out and reminds me of something deeper, of something stronger, of something that dwells within the depths of my heart, soul and spirit—
“This is my body, broken for you. Remember me.
This is my blood, poured out for you. Remember me.”

“Remember me, remember me.”

As I open my eyes and a glistening pearl forms, the last of the amber rays descend beneath the limitless horizon. The wind whittles down to a breeze and breathes gently against my face as if wiping away that tear. In the closing light, in the silence of the moment, I hear my Lord…

“Remember me, remember me.”

With Christ in my heart, a friendship as my surrender and my knees on the sand,
I pray…

And I remember.