Repetition

 

One of my hardest tasks while trying to continue to keep up my weekly blog is trying to find new ideas. At my age and experience I have lots of stories and sometimes find myself repeating myself.  It’s not uncommon actually. Redo’s, reboots, and remakes are very common. Think about it. When is the last time you have seen an original movie or story? Still, it isn’t all bad. There are several good things that can happen when we review or retell a story.

 New Information - As a young man I learned not to remind my parents or grandparents that they had already told that story before. Firstly, it’s just kind of rude. Secondly, I found that each time new facts seemed to show. This helped add the story, often important things.

 As A Reminder - Let’s face it. We need reminding. Why do pastors repeat sermons & Bible stories? Because we need reminding. Poetry often has repeating lines for emphasis. The poem from Robert Frost is a good example.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

 Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

 

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

 

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Source: Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays (Library of America, 1995) 

Even God repeated Himself. Why? Because we forget. Because He wants us to notice something important. I reminds us that God provided in the past and He will still provide. He told the Gospel Story in four different books using four different perspectives. He repeats genealogies. Because they are important.

 For The Next Generation - We sometimes forget that even though we know the stories, our younger generation may not. It was the original reason I started blogging, so that my children and grandchildren would know and remember what God has done in my life.

 Stories only told verbally seem to change over time. Remember the telephone game in elementary school? Ya, that. It is important that things get written down. It helps prevent information from being changed or distorted.

 

My takeaway? I don’t fear repetition (as long as it’s not from memory loss). Embrace the retelling. Learn from it. Don’t change the facts; just help the next generation to remember.