We are beloved children of God, not because we remember God but because God remembers us.

This quote from Ardie Goering's article about her father's journey into dementia in the July 2018 issue of "The Mennonite" (pp. 16-18) not only spoke to me about the journey Candy and I are on with her Alzheimer's but of something foundational that I have said and written in a variety of ways for years. 
"The essence of our personhood and faith is not our ability to remember. We are beloved children of God, not because we remember God but because God remembers us."
I know predestination and election have been the arena of highly acrimonious debate for centuries. But those words were not invented by the Calvinists. Some form of elect occurs 16 times in the NRSV New Testament, and destine 12 times. Whether you think my statement matches whatever understanding of predestination and election you hold or oppose, on all the ups and downs of my journey with Jesus, I have often taken considerable comfort from believing that God holds onto me even, maybe especially, when I am too fragile to hold onto God.