Stones of Remembrance

” And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over the Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua saying,

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

And command ye them, saying, take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priest’s feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and the these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.”

Joshua 4:1-3, 6 & 7

Do you ever wish that you could just remember things better? I do! Sermons, acts of God, things I read and so on! It sometimes feels like they go in one ear and out the other; I don’t like it. You know, I think God knows that we are prone to forget and so he has many times in the Bible commanded the children of Israel to build an alter, or in the case of these verses in Joshua, a memorial of twelve stones. Things that when we see them, jog our memory and make us think back to what happened. My dad recently inspired me with the thought that we too should have stones of remembrance. It is so good for me and you to look back and name the things that God has done for us and write them down so we don’t forget them so easily. Maybe it is the small things like when a friend came at a time when you needed her most, or maybe it was a big miracle, but no matter the size, God wants us to remember what he has done for us. It is so good for us and will be the biggest encouragement, when we can look back and see how God has been with us all through our lives! Build that bank of memories that we can recall when life is feeling tough. So I am just encouraging us all not to be forgetful of God’s blessings to us. Take the time to gather your stones of remembrance and I think you will find yourself full of praise for what God has done for you!

Words by: Daisy