Memorial "Stones"

I’m sentimental.  Dates often stick with me for a long time.  I’m guilty of keeping little mementos to “memorialize” specials events and times.   My husband on the other hand is not… I have seen the look of panic on his face more than once when I asked, “Remember what today is?” 

However, this past weekend rolled over a date that was on both of our radars very specifically.  This past Sunday was January 20^th.  January 20^th last year, was the first time (A) drove out to a town in Illinois that we had never heard of, to have his first interview with Calumet Street Christian Church.  By this point in his ministry search I had lost count of the number of “first interviews” we had been through.  Several on the phone or via Skype, several in person.   A handful of places had passed on him, but the largest majority left us being the ones to back out as we felt place after place just was not the right fit for our family- we did not feel God calling us there.  I will admit, as he left that morning, I was sure this would be another one of those “thank you so much for the opportunity, but this ministry is not a fit for our family.”  I had a meeting and was unable to go with him, but I can still tell you exactly where I was and what I was wearing when my phone rang that afternoon.  I was being invited into the interview via speaker phone.  This was not too out of the ordinary, I had been in on a lot of the others as well.  But there was something about this conversation that was different… something that made me more interested than many of the others.  Afterwards, I hopped on the computer and began doing my research (as I had for MANY places).  What were the schools like in the area?  What was the housing market like?  Was there an Aldi close by?  How far was it from our parents?  What did the church website look like? 

When he got on the road headed home, (A) called to tell me all about it and what he thought (this was also not uncommon… it was pretty much our routine after each interview to break it down together).  I began sharing the things I had found from my digging that afternoon and admitted this… the day had started with a whole list of reasons why this church should also be scratched off the list… but as it had unfolded most of the reasons had been put to bed.  For the FIRST time, we admitted to each other… this might just be “the one.” 

It would be several more weeks before we would hear anything back from them, and several MONTHS before things were finalized.  We continued to interview and visit churches, but God just kept bringing us back to the thought “let’s keep holding on to hear more from that church in Illinois.” 

(A) was looking forward to being in the pulpit Sunday morning to celebrate that one year anniversary, but the weather had other plans.  As (a) and I stopped by his office at the end of the day yesterday, I couldn’t help but snap a picture of the two of them at his desk.  To see the JOY on his face in ministry again, to watch him work with Godly, caring leaders, to see the friendships and bonds forming among the staff… the faithfulness of God never ceases to amaze me.

One of my favorite books of the Old Testament is the book of Joshua.  In chapter 4 of Joshua there is an account of when God parted the Jordan River at flood stage so the Israelites could walk across on dry land.  And God instructs 12 men to cross ahead of the Ark of the Covenant and each pick up a large stone from the middle of the river.  He tells them to use the stones to make a memorial so that God’s people would always remember what He had done for them.  It is a passage I have taught from more than once, because I love the book of Joshua.  But it came to mean even more to me over the past 18 months. 

Over those months of leaving ministry, letting God heal our hearts, finding out who we were in Him, finding out who our friends were, what worship really meant, watching God’s provision, and being lead to uproot our entire lives to head back to ministry… through all that Jordan crossing experience for our family… I began to collect “stones”.  And in our hearts and in our lives there is truly a memorial for what God has done for us.  We are now living on the other side of that Jordan Crossing (and I am SO very grateful!), but on days like January 20^th, I will always look at that “memorial of stones” and we will remember, and we will praise God ever the more for what he has done in our lives.

“and he said to them, ‘Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan.  Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you,  ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.’”  Joshua 4: 5-7