“Mom! Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mama? Hey, Mom!”
I hear this a LOT when I’m trying to memorize Scripture. I used to spend an hour alone in my backyard, pacing around and muttering passages to myself. That blissful existence was a long time ago. Nowadays, a chance to memorize Scripture without being interrupted or doing other things at the same time is a very rare and precious thing. I wouldn’t trade this life of chasing my littles around. I’m very aware of how blessed I am loving my mini darlings even while I wonder how long it will take for me to finish this post because I need to pause and get my daughter a snack.
And we’re back! Are you living and loving the mom life with me? Although we love our kiddos, it can feel like all of our time is tied up in loving our kiddos. Where is the space for Scripture memorization? I definitely struggled with transitioning to life as a mom and finding time to continue memorizing Scripture. That’s when I discovered something incredibly encouraging.
Memorization is an automatic result of repetition over time.
It was caring for my littles that made this truth stand out to me. How many of us moms, dads, grandpas, grandmas, aunties and uncles have memorized our little’s favorite book? Did you try to memorize it? No, but after fifteen requests for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, we know what that bear sees. All it took was repeating the words. It did not take great focus, it did not take great effort, but here you have a recitation of the classic children’s book ready in your repertoire.
As I pondered more about how to continue memorizing Scripture while my children bounce around me and I pause to kiss their boo-boos, I decided to give basic repetition a chance.
I started to memorize Scripture by reading a passage out loud once, and then reading the three verses I was working on three times. I would only do this once a day, and it would only take up to five minutes of time. I would focus on the same three verses each day until I could recite them, and once I could I would repeat the next three verses three times for the next day. At first it didn’t feel like this bit of effort was working, but as each day went on, I found myself being ready to focus on the next three verses sooner than I thought I would. The extra focus on the sets of three verses helped me progress faster, while the time in the whole chapter helped me tie them all together.
In time, using this method, I was able to memorize several chapters in just a few months. This was despite my cherubs many interruptions to this daily routine. I was thrilled and delighted to be spending time with God again in my most favorite way to do so.
The key to Scripture memorization is not skill, method, or large portions of focused time. It is simply repetition over time, however brief that repetition is. Even consistency isn’t entirely necessary, you can skip some days and still memorize a passage. And thank goodness for that flexibility, even five minutes can be rough for parents! Of course, if you spend more time and more focus, you can memorize more quickly. But even if you are struggling right now in your season of life to find two minutes to speak Scriptures, you can still memorize Scripture. Those two minutes of effort will build up and those words you repeat will stay with you throughout the day for the Holy Spirit to encourage you and guide you.
How do you memorize Scripture when you’re faced with a busy season?
For more encouragement, you can check out my little book “Speaking Scripture: How to Memorize and Recite with Purpose and Delight.”
Blessings,
Rachel Eernisse