Stones of Remembrance

bog #1

On my recent visit to my sister Judy’s house in California, I discovered a rock collection nestled against some family pictures (one of which was a most embarrassing picture of us three sisters in Holland apparel complete with winged caps and wooden shoes). Each stone was marked with a date and a special event the family wanted to remember. One stone had been collected from Central Park in New York and was marked in black marker: “5-23-03 Mark proposed to Heather”. Another rock was marked: “March 13, 2009 Family retreat to Cambria”. Other significant events were memorialized on the stones: a 25th anniversary, a move to a new house, the death of our younger sister. Whenever a memorable event was experienced in her family’s life a stone was collected from the site and labeled with black felt tip marker. After recent gall bladder surgery, my sister was given her gall stones back (“party favors” her nurse called them). We joked that we should display them along with her other stones of remembrance.

My sister got the idea for this memorial from the book of Joshua (chapters 3 & 4). In this passage the Israelites are anxiously ready to cross into their promised land. One big problem stands in their way--the Jordan River, not to mention it is at flood stage. Their undaunted leader, Joshua, is full of faith and tells them, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Indeed He does.

As soon as the priests carrying the ark step into the river, the water piles up on each side and the Israelites cross on dry land. After this miracle, God instructs Joshua to tell the leader of each of the twelve tribes to collect a stone from the middle of the Jordan, one big enough to carry on his shoulder. These stones are then set up at Gilgal with these instructions from Joshua, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4: 20-24)

I brought a stone home from my sister’s house and wrote on it: “June 16-July 1, 2009 Johnston’s home—renewal”. It now sits on my memory shelf and reminds me of how God provided a much needed vacation and some precious time with my sister and her family.