“Remember your Creator in the day of your youth.” Ecclesiastes 12:1

The goal of this writing is to expound on the theme of the above scripture and to add a few intriguing stories . Let’s break apart the scripture first.

The instruction found in Ecclesiastes is to ‘remember’ our Creator while we are still young. In the original language (Hebrew) this word, “remember” is ‘zkr’ or ‘zekhor,’ and carries the meaning of, ‘to recall information or events and to respond in an appropriate fashion’.

Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, continues and highlights one of the attributes of God as ‘Creator.’ We know that God has many names. For example, He is “I Am” and within this declaration can be found His reality in His entirety. God chose Solomon to decree the Creator side of Himself.  Solomon did not choose God’s name of Shepherd or Strong Tower, in this passage. So, we must ask ourselves why he chose to guide us to this attribute of God.

The conclusion is within the sentence itself. He affirms that humankind is a created being (not evolved). However, his main point is that he wanted us to ‘call to mind’ our time in the presence of God, witnessing Him “in action” while He was creating. Solomon continues and defines whose Creator is addressed. He states, “Your Creator.” This means that Solomon wanted us to recognize God as Creator of our personal human structure, and to bring back to memory those moments.

Furthermore, when scripture is guiding us into an action this means that we are able to carry out that instruction.  God would never instruct us to remember something if we had never experienced it before. This denotes the fact that yes, we were created by God and our spirit, soul, and body are capable of remembering the moments of our beginnings through the power of the Spirit. This means that we were in Creator’s presence, His thoughts, His plans, His hands–with Him where He dwells before we were brought to earth and placed in our mother’s womb.

“Thus declares the Lord, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.” Zechariah 12:1

About fifteen years ago, while volunteering as the Bible Department head for a private school, I was privileged to assist in organizing weekend trips for young people who showed interest in travel, public speaking, listening for the voice of God, the functions of ministry, and excited to learn about the scriptures.  This upcoming trip was no different. Anyone from the age of six to eighteen could request to travel with us. The only criteria were that they would need to have listened, heard, processed, and written the conversation they had with the Lord.

Right before one of these trips, a young six-year-old Chancellor found me right outside of the main school glass doors. “Mrs. Z.” He said. “I need to go with you this Sunday.”  “Well, do you have something to share?” I responded, hiding my joy as I recognized his confidence. It’s not going to be easy to forget his little body standing there with such determination. He was ready with an answer. “Yes, I had an experience with God, and I need to share it with the adults. They need encouragement and this message will encourage them.” “Would you please share this with me first?” I asked. “Yes, I can.” He responded.

Making the shape of a piece of paper with his hands, he began to tell me his story. “I was sitting in class trying to follow the instructions my teacher gave the class. She wanted us to have some alone time with Jesus. I was trying to concentrate but I couldn’t because I was restless and distracted. I didn’t know what to do. Then I heard Jesus tell me to draw a door on the piece of paper that was laying on my desk. So I did. When I finished I heard Jesus say, “Go through the door.”  “Chancellor, what did you do?” “I went through the door he said,” with absolutely no hesitation.

[Training children requires a critical guideline. When a child is describing their encounter with God, it is not wise to give them multiple choice options for what it is they really saw. This adds confusion to the purity of their experience. It is best to wait until they have completed their description and genuine thoughts. If they are needing help getting the experience out, the Lord always guides the parent or teacher with structural questions which assists them without reshaping their genuine holy moment.  Our options can downplay what they really saw or exaggerate the experience. We do not want to create room for either. These encounters are theirs given to them by God. He knows their age and where they are at with Him. It is up to Holy Spirit to assist them in coming to the depth of the conclusion intended. We as the authority in their lives can ask God for sensitivity in how to help them interpret these “guidepost encounters” given to them along their life’s path. The topic of interpretation is an entirely different subject, we can touch on that at a later day.]

To the question, “What happened after you went through the door?” Chancellor continued by saying that he was taken into the throne room of God, and found himself standing before the Lord. “I saw a throne but it wasn’t a normal throne. It looked like it was made of stone, but it wasn’t stone it was made of bright white light. There was a man sitting on the throne, but He wasn’t a man He was God. He was made of pure white bright light. It was hard to see Him through all of that Light.”  “Is that your experience today?” I asked. “No, that is not all.”

Chancellor continued describing his encounter. “Behind this Light (the One on the Throne was God), there was a huge angel. He too was very bright. He did not talk to me though. Behind the big angel on the left and right side, there were houses. These houses were made of stone but it was not really stone, they were made of light. In both houses, there were openings for doors, but these doors were always opened. I saw these old men coming out of the house on the left. They were wearing white robes and their beards were long white beards. The house on the right was different. There were these creatures that had wings and were flying, but they were not birds. I didn’t know what they were. Then I heard a voice ask me, “Do you know what they are?” I answered, “No.” He said to me, “These are the spirits of the children who have yet not been placed in their mother’s womb.”

Chancellor was so excited about this experience. He continued to tell me that he needed to share this experience with adults so that they would be encouraged to continue life with excitement. That they were sent to the earth with a purpose, and that they should no longer be discouraged.

Yes, Chancellor traveled with us that weekend and shared his story.

“Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of our spirits and live?” Hebrews 12:9

It wasn’t too long ago (well maybe a little bit ago) when I wanted to test this out with our youngest. His life was a miracle and there was no question that God wanted him born. His first few months were spent in intentional worship with me at home. I learned that children remembered God for the first four years, and from then on they would begin to forget; as their surroundings and minds became filled with all that they are learning, and busy with everyday occurrences. My intention was to see if we could prolong the “forgetting” part of this beautiful reality. Without pressuring him at all, I asked Malakey. “Malakey, where did you come to us from?” Malakey’s response over and over again was, “I came from Jesus. I was in heaven.” This was his response with no prodding or teaching from any of us. He was aware from where he came, and that God intentionally sent him with purpose. He remembered details until he was around seven.

Many days were spent worshipping with Malakey. I remember day after day holding him cradled in my arms as we worshipped the Lord eye to eye. He was too young to speak, but his eyes were speaking to me beautifully. As his mom, I could see his spirit talk to me through his beautiful eyes. He was aware of my acknowledgment of his body, soul, and spirit. He understood our silent conversation.  He was welcomed to this earth, to learn and follow His Creator. He was welcomed to have fun, and learn through every experience in life. He was welcomed as a unique individual sent to the earth with a purpose.

At Malakey’s three-month mile marker, he was really weepy. For a baby who rarely cried, this was unusual. All my attempts to calm him were not successful. It was at that point that I felt like I heard the Lord say to me, “He misses Me. His atmosphere is beginning to change and he isn’t recognizing Me in the changes. Comfort him.” Taking Malakey back to our bedroom, I cradled him again and began to speak to him audibly and eye to eye. “Malakey, are you missing Jesus?” I caught his attention. His eyes were telling me what I needed to know. “Malakey, it is okay. Jesus is right here with you. He has not left. You will learn to see Him here on earth. You are okay. I speak peace to your body and remind you that you are welcome to this earth to grow into the beauty of who you are. God will not leave you. He sent you here to us, and He will always be near.” Yes, Malakey immediately stopped crying.

In three month intervals Malakey experienced the same distraught feelings of loneliness, longing for his Creator, and each time I would walk him through the process of acknowledging the reality of the change.  It worked.  This cycle stopped when he turned one year old. From one year old on he was now able to verbally communicate, and dialogue continued with lots of questions initiated by both.

“How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love.” Ephesians 1:3-4 

A friend of mine is a mother to daughters, and when her fourth was born, the older sister was leaning over her cradle. The one leaning over the cradle was four years old. Momma had left her alone with her sister for a just a moment. The older sister was talking with baby sister. The momma of the girls came closer and stood in the doorframe of the room and listened to the one-sided conversation. This is what she heard, “I know you were just with Him. Can you remind me of what God looks like? I’m starting to forget.”

Whether we can mentally recollect our time with Creator God, there is no doubt that God is God and we are His creation. Beautifully designed through the love of man and wife–mother and father. Yes, generations extend forth as love multiplies.

King David wrote in Psalms 139: 14,

“For You have formed my inward parts, You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well.”

Let’s take a moment to recollect our childhood. Do you remember those moments of silence playing alone in nature or in our bedrooms? How about riding in the back seat of a car or standing alone at the playground at school? In your silence, did you have that “knowing” that you did not just evolve into this form of “a person” but there was a sense that you had come from someone who was greater than you? Our soul knew that our Creator was connected to us and is with us.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Generations are the result of love multiplied. The earth is hosting five to six generations of descendants at one given time. Time and activity advance through the energy expelled by these generations–families. Life happens and time passes. Moments of celebration; as well as, moments of pain occur to every man and woman. Moments of justice and injustice — where we learn to flex our muscles towards a winning result. Life fills our timeline; and for some, we have forgotten the experience of being in the presence of our Creator God. The promising challenge is this, it is never too late to slow down and ask God to remind us of our time with Him. The silent longing we have in the depth of our soul (some call that place “the empty place” unable to be filled) is the hunger to reconnect with the One whose hands held us as He formed us with a divine design of love, identity, and destiny.

Go ahead, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” He remembers you.

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God,
to receive glory and honor and power;
for You created all things,
and because of Your will,
they existed and were created. ”
Revelations 4:11

Remembering our Creator today,

Briskilla

ps. the photo is used with permission. This is my friend. Her name is Jesura.