The Meaning of a Stack of Stones

After Joshua takes over from Moses to lead the Israelites into the promised land, a very cool thing happens. God stops the flow of the Jordan River so that the people can walk across on dry land (chap 3). Then God tells Joshua to have one representative from each tribe get a stone from the riverbed and pile them up to make a memorial. Why?

Chapter 4, verse 6 says, “In the future, your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing…’ ”

This got me thinking about what kinds of memorials I make and what will my children ask about. How can I make memorials that will help my children see that God is at work in our lives? I’ve always been the kind of person to keep written records of life events, of my walk with God. I hope that these will one day give my kids a picture of my journey, and an idea of where they come from.

But as I was reading, I was wondering if I could do something more visual, like the stones piled up. My writing is hidden in books and on the computer. What could I build or make that my children can see, touch or hold? I want them to know that our life is not just about the things we own that surround them. I want to give them a taste of the spiritual part of our lives through something they can see on a regular basis. Something that celebrates the miracles, the answered prayers, the gifts we didn’t expect.

My first thought is to make some kind of photo album or scrapbook. It could have pictures, journaling, drawings, letters and cards from people, etc. Anything that can tell a story of God’s work in our lives. Eventually the kids could contribute with drawings and later writing, of things that tell their own story of experiencing God.

Well, I know that the BLC folks are creative people, so maybe you can add some ideas of your own. What other kinds of things can we do to build memorials to communicate that God is faithful, that He has done great and wonderful things in our lives?