When I was a kid, I was super active in AWANA. And I memorized a huge number of verses, in order to get various awards for my uniform and be the one that “finished my book” or did extra work, or whatever. A lto fo times, I’m not sure what my motivation really was, other than it was just something I DID. Part of who I was, at the time, I suppose.
But then i went to college. And I was so busy stuffing my head with varying degrees of useless and useful knowledge, that I didn’t really have time for any kind of Bible memory. Plus, you know, there were no awards, no one to pat me on the back if I got it right. BUT. As I struggled to deal with the new culture I was in, as I dealt with friends going through hard times, and as I questioned my faith and tried to separate my faith from the faith of my parents… those verses, the ones I had memorized for stickers and patches and trophies, kept coming back to me. They had become part of me, and God spoke to me through them more times than I can count.
And now I’m an adult (don’t laugh). And I’ve plugged myself back into AWANA, I’ve been a Cubbie director for several years. I love the program, and I want other kids to have the same experiences I did with learning these verses…. but I haven’t been doing any of it myself. I guess I was just having trouble being motivated, and kept telling myself that I can’t find the time.
And then I saw this challenge. Memorize 1 Peter 1, in 13 weeks. It’s not a lot of work each week, just a couple of verses. I love the idea of getting back in the habit of memorization – and with Brianna starting Cubbies this year, it’ll be a good example for her as well. So wish me luck! I’ll be working on this through sometime in November – I’ll try to post progress updates to see how well I’m doing – even though there are no shiny awards at the end 