Stones of Remembrance
by Lisa Green, LPC-MHSP, Executive Director
“So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:7
We often see God do remarkable things in the midst of challenging and stressful circumstances, and truly, if we stop to pay attention, we can see his faithfulness and work in our lives in the midst of our normal, everyday circumstances as well. It can be particularly meaningful, though, coming through a difficult time or just a particular season (like the end of a term on the field) to purposefully remember and mark the moments and signs of God’s care and faithfulness in our lives.
In Joshua 4, we have a picture of the people of Israel, following the ark of the covenant as they made their way into the promised land. In a time of need and uncertainty, and following years of wandering the desert, they witnessed the miracle of the Jordan River being held back, so they could cross over on dry land. The Lord commanded them to collect stones from the riverbed and set them up as a memorial so that,
“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:21-24, NASB)
There, and other places throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites used stones as markers, memorials, and altars, to commemorate when God spoke something significant, or performed a miracle on their behalf.
Like the Israelites it benefits us, and our connection to the Father, to remember what God has brought us through, and his faithfulness in the midst of struggle. It increases our awareness of his work and presence in our lives, prompts our worship, and invokes gratitude. Holding on to and even memorializing moments of gratitude, praise, surprise, and goodness allow us to live longer in these moments, and keeps us hopeful and aware of our need to continue to look the Father to meet our needs. And when we don’t do it spontaneously, challenging ourselves to pay specific attention to the things that have been good in a hard season or challenging experience can be a spiritual discipline.
While the practice of grieving our losses and acknowledging pains is also an important discipline in our mental and spiritual health, practicing both grief and gratitude keeps us in balance.
MAKING YOUR OWN “STONES OF REMEMBRANCE”: EXERCISE
Oftentimes, we do express gratitude and praise when we see God’s care and provision in our lives through prayer and worship, but it can be especially meaningful to do something more tactile and concrete to acknowledge and remember those moments. This exercise will walk you through a creative way of doing the gratitude part- paying attention to specific moments of provision, joy, and evidence of God’s presence and faithfulness from a particular season or experience that you want to memorialize, and thank God for.
SUPPLIES:
Gather a few stones, either from the outdoors or from a craft shop. (If from outside, you’ll want to make sure there isn’t any loose dirt on them). You can either use several small/medium stones, or one larger one, depending on where/how you want to store or display your memorial. You will also need a sharpie, permanent marker or paint/paintbrush. If you have several small stones, and/or are doing this with your family, a team, or group, having a jar or vase to display them can be a nice way of creating the “pile” of stones.
STEPS:
- Consider
As you sit down with your supplies, pick a specific period of time or experience that you want to reflect on. This may be anything from a difficult term on the field, to a specific hard experience, or just the past month or year. As you begin to think through that time, open your heart and attention to what was good, sustaining, and life giving to you in that season. Look for where you saw the Lord providing and offering presence, praying:
“Father, open my eyes to your goodness and faithfulness, the places where you provided for me, made a way for me, and were present with me during this time.”
- Where has God been in this?
As you scan back, there may be things that come to your mind immediately- God’s provision, his presence, a miracle, a deeply felt need that was met. You may also need to look for the good, and be willing to search and sift through the season you’re reflecting on for those gifts. If the hard parts continue to come to mind, that’s ok- write them down somewhere, and agree to come back to them later for the purpose of giving attention to your grief or loss. Then bring yourself back to the prayer above and continue to reflect.
- Draw / write it down
As you collect these meaningful moments and memories, represent them on your stones of remembrance. This might be with a word or two, a picture, a symbol. Maybe like the Israelites, you want to memorialize one significant miracle, or act of provision from the Lord. Or perhaps there are many, big and small, that you want to remember and represent on your rocks. The words, pictures, and symbols don’t need to be pretty or make sense to anyone but you. However, if you’re doing this activity with your family or team, sharing some of these moments with each other can be powerful part of the exercise.
- Remember
When you’ve finished, store the rock/s in a place where you will come across them, allowing you to notice and remember over and over again God’s faithfulness to you in that time. This can be a one-time event, or you can make a practice of adding stones from time to time- a concrete and growing memorial of the goodness of God in your life.
