Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12
Last month, I was finally able to meet my little nephew! Six months is a very long time before being able to meet someone so special. As you can imagine, I was beside myself in love. I could be very biased, but he is absolutely perfect, super cute, and has a great personality (he never cries). Between my mom and sister, we must have taken close to 200 pictures in a one-week period.
We wanted to remember every moment, every little smile, and every sound he made. We wanted to imprint this special time in our memory. We were intentional about spending time in the moment, while we were there. Now that we are home we talk about our time in California and with the family often. We look at the pictures we took because we want to be back during that time and place with our precious boy.
Nowadays it’s easy to remember special moments, snap a picture and post it. We get reminded of it every year because of Facebook memories. It’s not always easy to remember that time we overcame something or when God brought deliverance, or when He provided supernaturally. But those moments are the ones that strengthen our faith, that help us to keep going. Those are the moments we should remember.
The Bible reminds us to remember the goodness of the Lord in Joshua 4: 5-7":
And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
God knew that the Israelites wouldn’t always remember the goodness of the Lord. they wouldn’t always remember the miracles that He did for them. He had them pick up stones on one side of the Jordan River and bring them over on dry land to the other side. This was so that they had a visual reminder of God’s miracle. The waters of the Jordan River would go back up and people wouldn’t be able to walk through it on dry land. They were placed in a spot where they could be seen.
We need to create our own stones of remembrance. Sometimes it’s journaling or sharing the stories with our community. When life gets tough and we feel like we can’t keep going and God has left us we can look back on His faithfulness in our lives. Rereading our journal can serve as a pivotal moment in our walk. Many times those that have walked alongside us will remind us of the goodness of God when we are unable to see or remember for ourselves. Having a trusted community is such a blessing when it comes to remembering.
I encourage you to place those stones out where you will be able to see them. There are many things we can do to “set up our stones”. Draw or paint a memory collage, decorate actual stones and place them in the garden. Journal those moments when you see the faithfulness of God. Get a community that will encourage you and walks alongside you during those really difficult seasons but also those really awesome seasons. We aren’t meant to walk through this life alone. God didn’t tell only one tribe to bring over a stone He told all twelve. The impact would be greater than just one lonesome stone. So find your tribe, set your stones, see what God has done in your lives, and be encouraged.
