Seconds, please

"Where were you at 4:42?"  It was a discussion starter in Coalinga California for months after the major earthquake.  I used it as a hunt for the most unusual spot.  I was at work-how mundane!  I wanted to hear outrageous.  One friend was in the shower!  But the one I remember as unusual was my friend who happened to be in the bathroom and spent the earthquake watching her infant  in one of those contraptions that adhere to the top of the door frame to allow the baby to bounce.  Unfortunately, books and other objects flew past the baby as the earth shook.  The baby bounced and bounced!  There was nothing mother could do.  It's pretty difficult to move when the earth beneath your feet is moving and almost feels fluid.  So in my mind, this was the winner!  Second place was the plumber under a house-too scary to think about.

I thought about how our minds work.  We always seem to have vivid memory of where we were when historic events happen.  I remember so many details of where I was on 9/11 yet I can't remember what I had for breakfast two days ago. (I thought about using the example of where I was when JFK was shot but that would give away my age.)

I have decided to start my devotional study of Deuteronomy.  I know, who chooses Deuteronomy?  I love the book.  The book of seconds.  It's the second telling of the Law.  The Israelites had been given many "second chances." 

It appeals to my logical, here are the rules, slightly legalistic side but also I see God's love for those people, who don't fully appreciate how much God loves them.  It reassures me that if He loved them He loves me too.

I also think I choose it because I have two puppies and am striving to build my own dog pack.  I'm on a new journey with the puppies. 

My husband and I are on a new journey in  ministry with two locations.  It is time for some structure in my puppies' lives and in my spiritual life.  So Deuteronomy here I come!

I am encouraged that God will speak to me because the book begins with a description of exactly where Moses delivered the message from God and a description of the point in history complete with a day on the calendar and a historical reference.  What Moses is about to say is really important.

I did a quick internet search on why we remember the tragic and historical events so vividly.  Once I skipped the scientific research on rats, I noted that we use those events and the details as hooks for our memories.  Our brain has to store and file huge amounts of information.  In an effort to make it relevant, we use the hooks of those vivid details to help us retrieve the information.  We store information that is relevant so we can use it as a guide in the future.

The first two verses made me think.  I am anticipating some relevant information for my life from Deuteronomy.  Another Beginning!