Setting Up a Memorial

When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan river, God commanded them to set up a number of stones there by the river bed. Anticipating their questions, God told them these stones would be for a memorial. They would always be able to look back and recall what God had done for them. Furthermore, the stones were sure to trigger questions from the children in years to come, thus prompting the parents to relate God's wonderful works to their children, and preserve their history from generation to generation.

My husband and I are nearing completion of a three year basement project. I'll be honest, there were many moments of frustration over the past few years, as I stumbled over all manner of debris (aka tools) just to do laundry or retrieve something from the pantry. At times, I was sure we'd never finish. I allowed the messy basement to exxagerate itself in my mind, so that it represented all of the projects needing attention around the house. At some point late last year though, I realized this negativity was dominating my entire attitude and God in his graciousness taught me a bit about hope and patience.

As we lay in bed the other night, my husband and I recounted all the efforts involved in this project and how pleased we are with the results. We also agreed we'd learned much through the process, especially about each other. Then I reminded him of the stones by the River Jordan, and we both agreed this completed project will be a reminder in the future of God's goodness and blessings to us.