The Practice of Remembering: Uncovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life

What if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach?

According to pastor and spiritual director Casey Tygrett, "WeÑand all those who have come before usÑpick up the experience and we sense it: we feel its edges, notice its color, we smell the distinctive character (for shells it is the sickly seafood salt smell) of the experience, and we try to make sense of what it is. Is it beautiful? How would you describe the colorÑthe tones, the shades, wrapped around the ridges and swirls? Has it been damaged? Does the hard edge scrape our hand, leaving a blemish or a mark?"

How we hold and carry these memoriesÑgood and badÑis a part of what forms us spiritually. In this way we have a common bond with the people of Scripture who also had a sensory life, gathering shells and trying to make sense of them. Previously titled As I Recall, Casey Tygrett's writing in The Practice of Remembering explores the power of memory and offers biblical texts and practices to guide us in bringing our memories to God for spiritual transformation.