LAUGH LINES: A few mnemonics may help you to remember Scripture

By Verna Davis

I had only three things to buy: tea bags, milk and eggs. Surely I didn’t need to write that down. It was only three items, for goodness’ sake. I could remember that, couldn’t I? I picked up my keys and headed for the garage, mumbling over and over: milk, eggs, tea – milk eggs tea – milkeggstea.

Somehow in between the kitchen and the garage, my mantra got shortened to milk, tea and uh … Now what was that third thing? Why or why didn’t I write myself a list? Trooper that I am, I climbed in my car, mumbling something about not really liking milk in my tea, hoping against hope that the name of the third item would pop into my head before too long. But when I got to the store, there I was, right in the middle of the Valley of No-Recall just at the entrance to the Land of Abandoned Memory. Somehow, the word milk kept rolling around in my brain, so I took myself off to the nearest drive-through for a milkshake. Is a raspberry milkshake considered brain food?

My husband, Doug, would have taken those three things – tea, milk, eggs – and made himself a little mnemonic. Don’t get frightened by the sound (or the spelling of it), for a mnemonic is nothing more than a memory aid. The fancy name comes from Greek and is a form of Mnemosyne, the ancient Greek goddess of memory. Doug would have taken the first letters of the words – milk, eggs, tea – and formed the word “met.” He might have come home with a melon instead of milk or a loaf of Texas-sized bread instead of tea, but he would have gotten the three things that began with the letters in his little mnemonic tool.

Mnemonic devices do help us remember things. Every beginning algebra student knows that Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally means that the order for solving equations is Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction. If you can’t remember how to spell rhythm (and we know how often we need to do that!), we can help ourselves by repeating, “Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move.” If you are ever asked to name, in order, the musical notes on the treble clef stave, (the ones on the lines, that is) you can answer by saying, “Elvis’ Guitar Broke Down Friday,” and know that the notes are E, G, B, D and F. (The notes of the spaces are FACE, just in case you were wondering.)

I’ll bet you can quote the rest of this little ditty, can’t you? “Thirty days hath September/April, June, and …” See? Mnemonics work, don’t they?

I have found that the older I get, the harder it is to memorize Scripture. Yet, the older I get, the more I need to remember all the Scriptures I can. Here’s a few mnemonics I have used to help me. Maybe they can help you, too.

I put Scripture to music. It doesn’t matter if it is a real tune, or if anyone knows the tune but me. It’s a tune I sing to myself in my head or under my breath. Putting the words to music lets them sing their way into my memory. It works great in the shower, too!

Scriptures can have things in common that help me remember them. For instance, John 3:16 is one that most of us know. There are other great “3:16” passages, too. Acts 3:16 recounts the power of the name of Jesus. 1st Corinthians 3:16 informs us we are God’s temples. Colossians 3:16 emphasizes the importance of the word of Christ dwelling within us. 1st Timothy 3:16 speaks of the mystery of godliness, and 2nd Timothy 3:16 encourages us that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for every good work. There’s also several “let us” passages in Hebrews. “Let us” be careful (4:1), “let us” make every effort (4:11), “let us” approach with confidence (4:16), “let us” draw near (10:22), “let us” hold fast (10:23), “let us” consider one another, (10:24), and “let us” not forget about meeting together (10:25).

It takes quite a bit of effort, but Scripture is something we should never stop trying to commit to memory. Deuteronomy 6:6 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.” So, develop your own little mnemonic aids. Make it a game, sing a song, chant a chant, whatever it takes. Just commit Scripture to your memory as much as you can.

As for grocery shopping, let me advise you to make a list. Otherwise you might come home with an eggplant instead of eggs.

I’d leave now, but first I have to ask. Does anyone remember where I parked my car?

Verna Davis may be contacted at www.TheJoyLady.com