Heartprints

Memorial Stones

 

Every so often I go to my special cubby and I pull out two rocks. The first is a dark gray stone with my name etched in silver paint accompanied by silver stars. The second has my daughter’s name in silver with pretty pink stars.

 

Every so often I go to my special cubby and I pull out two rocks. The first is a dark gray stone with my name etched in silver paint accompanied by silver stars. The second has my daughter’s name in silver with pretty pink stars.

 

When my husband taught swim lessons, the instructors painted special stones for the students to mark the completion of a level. Their final task was to dive in to the pool and retrieve the “diving stones.” The stones brought to mind their hard work and the skills they had accomplished. One day I was pleasantly surprised when he came home with two stones painted especially for me and our oldest daughter even though we weren’t in the class.

 

These two stones remind me of God’s faithfulness in our lives that summer despite our hectic schedules, our diminishing finances, my pregnancy nausea, and some relationship difficulties with extended family. I knew life wasn’t always easy but God had brought us through thus far and would continue to do so. He blesses his children immensely.

 

In Joshua 4:1–20, God instructed the Israelites to take 12 stones from the Jordan River as a remembrance of the river parting for them to cross over. It was a memorial of what God had done for them. Their wandering in the wilderness for 40 years had not always been easy but God had been with them and provided for them each step of the way. Now they had crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land and they could count on him to continue to be faithful.

 

This Memorial Day, read Joshua 4 with your family and take a moment to reflect on how God has been faithful to you. If you have time, paint some stones with your children as you reflect on specific instances.

 

Craft Materials:

Stones

Paintbrushes

Paper Plates or Containers for Paint

Acrylic Paint

Sarah is the author of Bathsheba’s Responsibility in Light of Narrative Analysis, contributor to Vindicating the Vixens, and contributing editor for The Evangelism Study Bible. Some of her previous ministry experiences have included teaching and mentoring of adults and children in a wide variety of settings. Her small claim to fame is that she has worked with children of every age range from birth through high school over the past 20 years. She and her husband Ben reside in Richardson, Texas with their four children.