When I read The Count of Monte Cristo many years ago, something began to stir in my heart. In one of the early chapters in the book, Dantés is in prison and feels like he is about to go mad. Then he meets Abbé Faria who tells him that at a certain point in his life he read and re-read the great classics and stored much of them away in his memory. Hence, his mind was constantly having meaningful dialogue with all the ideas he had stored away in his brain. I was intrigued by that! (The complete post is here.) I began to hope that "someday" I might have the time to do the same thing.
Then, about ten years ago, I read an article about how cell phones and the internet were robbing us of our ability to remember things. Phone numbers, addresses and other information were automatically stored for us on our devices. There were even apps for managing your passwords. With a click of a button you could access any Bible verse by typing in a few key words into your search engine. No need to try to remember anything! This was my second prompt to dive into action.
The final step toward putting these thoughts into practice came when I stumbled upon Andrew Wilson's book An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture, which clinched my resolve. (I've written an entire blog post about my journey here.)
I've been at it for ten years now and I've memorized some wonderful Scripture verses, hymn lyrics and classic poetry. Sometimes my 65 year old brain doesn't cooperate and it takes me a whole month to get a short Bible passage down pat. (I've discovered that a chunk of twelve verses is my limit.) Poetry comes more easily because of its cadences, but whether it's Scripture, prose or poetry, consant review has been a necessity.
Do you know what has surprised me most? How much fun it is! (I always get a warm glow when I recite Wentworth's letter to Anne from Persuasion.) and it's gratifying to always have something "nutritious" in my brain to think about. It's like having a secret chocolate stash that I can raid anytime that I have a quiet moment. It also keeps me from doomscrolling while waiting for a doctor's appointment or while standing in a long line. I just whip out the list of memorization projects that I keep in my wallet and start working my way through it.
The purpose of the post is not to brag as much as it is to encourage you to give memorization a try. You might be surprised at how fulfilling it is. And your brain will thank you!
Blessings,
