(Someone asked me from one my previous posts, “What happened to you?” God is good always…)
The Testimony of Remembrance
There are some things in life you think you will never forget.
Your name. Your family. The people you love.
But last year, I learned something I never expected:
I could forget almost everything—and still not be forgotten.
Not by Jesus.
Not by my wife.
Not by my sons.
For fifty years, I served in ministry. I often say I was a sheepdog—trying to stay close to the Shepherd and faithfully care for His sheep.
At seventy, I retired, expecting a quieter season.
Then everything changed.
I suffered a massive heart attack.
I died twice.
While I was in the emergency room, an artery was accidentally pierced. I bled internally and lost eighteen units of blood.
The doctors stabilized me, and I spent fifteen days in intensive care. They thought I was brain dead.
But I wasn’t.
When I came out of the coma, the doctors were amazed. Some began calling me the “Jackson Miracle.”
But coming back was only the beginning.
I had lost my memory.
I did not know who I was.
I did not recognize my family.
I could not remember my past.
But they remembered me.
My wife remembered her husband when I could not remember being her husband.
My sons remembered their father when I could not remember being their father.
They stayed.
They loved me.
They waited for me to come back.
Every morning, sunlight came through the hospital window, and one verse kept circling through my mind:
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
—Psalm 30:5
I could not remember much else, but I remembered that.
Slowly, pieces of my life began returning.
I recognized my wife.
My sons.
My friends.
And the Lord taught this old preacher something I thought I already knew.
I am still a student of the cross.
I forgot Jesus, but Jesus never forgot me.
When I did not know my own name, He knew it.
When I could not remember Him, He remembered me.
He reminded me through the people beside me.
My wife did not forget me.
My sons did not forget me.
Their love became a visible reminder of His promise:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
—Hebrews 13:5
And as my memory slowly returned, so did my awareness of just how much mercy had carried me.
I began to understand something Mary understood long ago.
She had been seen by God.
Remembered by God.
Chosen by God.
And when she realized what He had done for her, praise rose out of her heart.
That is why her words have become personal to me now.
They are not simply Mary’s song.
In many ways, they have become mine as well:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
And my spirit exalts in God my Savior
For He has looked with kindness on my lowliness
And His Name will be forever exalted
For the Mighty God has done great things for me
And His mercy will reach from age to age;
And Holy Holy Holy is His Name,
And Holy Holy Holy is His Name.
—Luke 1:46–50
The Mighty God has done great things for me.
I am alive.
My memories are returning.
My family is beside me.
But the greatest lesson is this:
When I could not remember who I was, love remembered me.
My wife remembered.
My sons remembered.
My friends remembered.
And Jesus remembered.
I was never forgotten.
And neither are you.
Selah.
