Memorial Stones (or Shirts)

This past fall was tough in several ways.  I have multiple friends that are fighting cancer, and they are closer to my age than my parents' age which is a first for me.  Various unanswered prayers and situations where it does not seem like God is working in my own life wear me down and even cause me to doubt God's goodness, if I'm honest.  The drug cartel violence in Mexico rages on, killing innocent lives, while the government does not do much to help and sometimes even appears to be supporting the cartels.  Not to mention, there is the horror of ISIS in the Middle East, racial tensions in the U.S., and other tragedies happening around the world.  No doubt about it, we live in a broken world.

It was in this state of mind that I was particularly encouraged one cold day this fall when I pulled out my t-shirt quilt for an additional layer of warmth at night.  My t-shirt quilt represents about a decade and a half of my life, and I finally got it made last spring after years of saving my favorite or most symbolic t-shirts.  When I look at those shirts and all the things they represent, I am reminded of God's abundant blessing and provision in the past.  I see years of playing volleyball and all the lessons that sports can teach you.  I see time spent in the inner city of New Orleans that grew my heart for the poor.  I see my youth group and college ministry days that helped give me a strong spiritual and theological foundation.  I see the excellent education and amazing friends that both high school and college gave me.  I see the wonderful elementary school where I work and God's providence in leading me there.  I see words in español that represent many faces of loved ones in Mexico and times of ministry there.  And when I look at all these tangible examples of God's faithfulness thus far in my life, I am encouraged to keep trusting Him for the future.  As I was thinking about this recently, I realized that my t-shirts serve a similar purpose as the memorial stones did for the Israelites:

[Joshua 4] 1 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

Like the Israelites, I am prone to forget.  I need these memorial stones (or shirts) to remind me of the Lord's mighty hand.