On many mornings when I arrive at the office, I walk around our building in prayer before going inside. Some days I walk around it once. Other days I circle seven times. On one particular occasion, I decided to pick up a rock for each lap. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the rocks, but I sensed they would serve a purpose at some point. So I put them in a small Rustic Cuff bracelet bag and placed it in one of my desk drawers.
At the end of the year, I was sitting at my desk and remembered the rocks. God spoke to me, telling me to pull them out and write on each one something from the past year that would remind me of His faithfulness moving forward.
It was 2020, and I sure had a lot of things to write. I wrote of God’s sustaining power for our company, in the midst of shutting things down for months and months and managing the fear and emotions of all of the team members I call family. One of the rocks simply said, “He kept me alive.” I have shared stories about my terrible bout with Covid-19 in the hospital, where I often felt like I was losing my breath. One of the rocks said “Family,” as the special moments we had with our girls that year were irreplaceable. They drew the girls closer to each other and changed the trajectory of every relationship within our family unit.
I knew God wanted me to write his miracles on the rocks because they would remind me of His faithfulness and build my faith for what was to come.
Often, we don’t like to look back at the difficult times because they remind us of the suffering we endured. It’s easier to move forward quickly, sometimes from one crisis to another. Yet God asked the children of Israel to memorialize the moments of suffering so they would never forget how He rescued them from the brink of death.
God is the same God that provided a lamb in the bushes when Abraham was offering his son as a sacrifice out of obedience. God is the same God that parted the Red Sea when there was no way of escape. He has done great things for us.
Reflecting and remembering his blessings doesn’t just cause us to offer continued gratitude to our Savior; it also renews our faith for the future rocks we will collect and write upon.
Today, I challenge you to write down all the times you can remember God’s goodness and mercy in your life. The times He carried you when you could no longer take a step. Look back, and be reminded that He has strengthened you and will sustain you as you move forward. He is ever faithful.
Psalm 77:11-12 “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
