Lima Beans

Lima Beans

I remember the first time I ate lima beans. It was a horrible experience; one that has embedded itself into my memory. I don’t tell my children just in case they want to have the experience for themselves. There are certain memories that we would like to simply erase from our mind while others we would like to savor for a lifetime. My wife finds it fascinating how my memory becomes selective while we are in the midst of a really good argument. Of course it never happens the way she says it does.
Sometimes the human memory seems pretty erratic. Our mind goes blank when we try to recall a name. We put up items simply so we want lose it and we forget where we placed them. Memory is an amazing feat of the human brain and serves as a testimony to the wonder of God’s creation. Have you ever considered that the mind feeds on the food that is placed at its disposal?
In the Old Testament there is a story of a man named Elijah. He was a prophet who spoke God’s word to the kings and queens. One day Elijah lost his courage and retreated to a remote hiding place. He became so discouraged he asked for permission to die. The reason for his despair was a manhunt instigated by the infamous Queen Jezebel. The search involved so many people that Elijah assumed he was left alone. In fact, the story says that seven thousand people in Elijah’s homeland that refuse to surrender to Queen Jezebel. But Elijah had lost sight of those loyal supporters. He remembered only his enemies and those memories led him to despair.
Now fast forward a few hundred years later to a Roman Jail. The apostle Paul had been through some of the most unpleasant and terrifying experiences. He had been stoned, beaten, snake bit, hunted as a criminal, and now locked behind bars. With those experiences in the background, Paul remembered the countless people who had encouraged him. He remembered that out of the worst of times there comes the seed of good. Paul jotted down a letter to his friends from his cell that contains these words, “I have learned in whatever state I find myself to be content.”
Our mental outlook is conditioned in part by what we recall from the past. Not all our memories are blessed, but our lives center on what gets our attention. People who dwell in the disappointing experiences, like forced to eat lima beans, tend to become bitter and cynical. Those who recall the positive and encouraging things remain bright and optimistic. The memory is a window through which life is viewed.
The problem is many of us remember the wrong things. There is a story about a man – could have been some of my relatives – who was remembering the hardships of his early life. You know, things like walking to school in a foot of snow, plowing in the field from morning to dawn, eating lima beans five nights a week. He exaggerated to such an extent that his wife felt compelled to set him straight. “Hush,” he said to her. “Half of the fun in remembering the good old days is rearranging them.”
We can manipulate our memory. What we give to our minds will eventually determine what they contain. Feed the mind on the right things and life takes on the right complexion. I always make it a point to remind my mother that she really messed me up making me eat lima beans. She reminded me the other day that she also served chocolate cake that day as well. Oh well, I guess I forgot.