The Stones

One of my favorite things in the world to collect is memories. I firmly believe in investing not only time, but effort in creating something worth remembering. I can get 1000 smiles out of one good memory. In my family we are all very fond of remembering. There was the time my dad played a trick on my Grandpa during a card game, or my Grandma's expression of "by crackey!" that set us all off on a particularly long good laugh. These are the things of our family lore. My husband teases me because I end up telling the same stories over and over again. But that is what we do in my family. We repeat our best times over and over to each other and enjoy them without the joy diminishing with the re-telling. Memories are jewels in the treasure box of life. (How's that for cheesy?) A good memory is something that cannot be stolen, but brings happiness and comfort throughout life.

That is one of the things I love about God! We have this in common. He also is fond of remembering. I looked up the word remember in the Bible Concordance the other day and found numerous references to the word remember. There are many places in the Bible where it talks of God remembering. Many times, this is a signal for a miracle, because it means a blessing or good thing is about to follow. God remembering His promises to His people, or God remembering His covenant with us which thus spares us the consequences of His wrath towards sin. But there are also many times that the word remember is a command given by God. He tells us to remember. Remember what He has done for us, remember what He has promised us, remember the battles He has fought on our behalf, remember, remember, remember. I've been reading in the Old Testament again and came across a passage where God fought a battle for Israel and sent their enemy scattered without them having to step onto the battlefield. Following this one-sided victory Samuel sets a stone in the place where the battle was won as a way of remembering. You see that many times in the Old Testament, particularly with the Patriarchs. They were forever erecting stone altars and piles then renaming the area as a way of marking the place where God showed up. And from then on anytime that place is mentioned in the Bible it is referenced by it's new name and the reminder that God's presence had been there. One of my favorite stories of this is the place where Jacob set up stones to remind him of where he had wrestled all night with an angel of God. Can you imagine? It must have been somewhat like our road signs. Any one passing by would see that stone pillar and would remember the story of Jacob.

After pondering on this, I began to think about my "stone markers." What have I set aside in my memory to mark the places where God has been. How do I remind myself of the times where I have experienced His presence, or where He has acted on my behalf? I believe that God's command to remember must be very important for Him to consistently reiterate it throughout the Bible. Why is it so important to God for us to remember? I believe it is because we are human and seem to have short memories. Something incredible and God-inspired happens to us and at the time we bask in it thinking that we will always remember that moment. But life moves on and we get bogged down in the difficulties and challenges that confront us. And all of a sudden we are grumbling and complaining, perhaps questioning God and wrestling with our faith. Oh, we are so easily distracted and so soon forget. God delivered the Jews out of Egypt with spectacular miracles and undeniable wonders and in the short period of time following they began to complain and doubt. It didn't take long at all and they were whining about trivial things such as food and water and the armies of Egypt. They had just been part of a major miracle and yet lacked the faith in God to meet their daily needs.

I also believe God calls us to remember because it pleases Him. I know how much pleasure I receive when someone recalls something nice that I had done for them. It lets me know that what I did had value and that the person on the receiving end appreciated it. Which in turn makes me more inclined to want to do it again. I can only imagine the pleasure God must get when we recall the good things He has done for us, especially since we are so much more prone to ask for His help then to give gratitude for what He has already done for us. We are so demanding. We treat God like He is our servant or magic genie, here for our pleasure rather than we are his servants here for His pleasure. How sad that must make Him, when all He wants to do is love us and all we want to do is take from Him. Like a spoiled children we are. How it must grieve Him.

I also think that God commands us to remember for the sake of others. When we remember His goodness for us by telling others of what He has done for us, it brings Him glory and gives others hope. I know many times when I have been discouraged, someone will tell me about a time when God did something for them and it immediately bolsters my faith. We all need these reminders. We hear so much negative in our world and so little good. A good memory is like a breath of fresh air.

So again, I asked myself where are my stones? Am I remembering all the times the love of God has impacted my life? Or do I look on those times as my expected due, lacking gratitude for His grace and mercy. Am I spreading God's glory by reminding others of His goodness? Am I truly thankful for His daily miracles? Although I know I can always do a better job of being thankful I would like to answer yes to this question. If I pause and think, I can remember innumerable instances of God's blessings. I look back on the path I have journeyed and it is strewn, covered in the stones of remembrance. He has been incredibly generous and good to me and in so doing has made my life more beautiful. Much like a person taking a quiet stroll along the beach, I am collecting stones, remembrances of His love. I then place these in a particular spot where I met His presence and walk on, leaving altars of His love for others to stumble across