When we first met Mrs. W., she lived in a senior citizens' high rise. She had relocated from Texas , and was unable to attend church. We were fairly new in the church area we were serving, and she was new to us—but not new to the old-timers there. We learned that she and her husband had been quite active in the Church years earlier, attending services, visiting and participating in numerous service projects. When they moved out of state, the members lost track of them until several years later when Mrs. W., now a widow, returned to live out the rest of her days. It struck me then that we shared such a small segment of her life—mainly her struggles with aging and loss of independence. The years of dedicated energy and service were things of a faded or, for us, an unknown past. As we got acquainted with more of the congregation, things from their pasts began to emerge. Some had been charter members of newly forming congregations like St. Louis and Kansas City , sometimes traveling many hours to attend services every Sabbath, as well as Bible studies, Holy Days and Spokesman Clubs. Some remembered three services on a Holy Day or three-hour sermons. Many had stories of sacrifice and blessings, disappointments and renewal. And all remembered when they first came into the Church and why. They were still there, still faithful, still serving when we transferred into that area—living links with the Church's past. Now 20 or so years later, most of them have died, and few remember what positive influences they were in the congregation. Sadly, as human beings we are greatly limited in our capacity to remember and to know a person's entire context. That's what makes Malachi 3:16-17 so comforting. God is not limited. He knows us in our entirety. And He remembers and takes note: "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, 'On the day that I make them My jewels.'"