Landmarks

When I drive a certain section of road, I am taken back to the day we moved to the area. Signs, buildings, and the way the road curves takes me back to the feelings I felt that day. Feelings of anxiety, tiredness and excitement to start a new adventure were tumbling about in my mind. Leaving the place where we had lived for 9 years was a hard decision because we were comfortable. I thought the move there was the hardest move since we were moving away from our families…no, it was the move back. I was unsure about many things, mostly the adjustment of my kids. 5 years later, those feelings come flooding back to me as I drive that section of road. Those feelings serve as reminders to me that God is faithful and that He is in the small and big things in my life. That journey on the road can be very Spiritual.

It also reminds me of a part in the Bible when the Israelites set up their own landmarks. The Israelites had been wandering in the desert and they were ready to enter the Promise Land with Joshua as their leader. If you are familiar with the wanderings of the Israelites, you would know that they had been hardhearted, and their hardheartedness had kept them from entering the Promise Land earlier. One of the first challenges for them as they entered the land was to cross over the Jordan River. Miraculously, the water parted and the entire nation of Israel walked over on dry ground.  If you want to read the story, go to Joshua 3-4.  Joshua 4 tells us the Lord told Joshua to choose 12 men, one from each tribe, to go to the middle of the river and pick out a stone. Joshua set up those stones and they were to be a landmark, a memorial to the Israelites about what happened that day. I can imagine the Israelites might have been feeling apprehension, tiredness and excitement as they knew the road ahead of them was certain and uncertain. They knew the Lord was certainly giving them the Promise Land, but how He would do it was uncertain. The stones eventually were forgotten, but I am sure they did serve as reminders to the Israelites of the feelings that were felt that day.

I am also sure that everyone has moments like these. Something will take you back to a memory -  a smell, a sound, a picture, a landmark. The memory could be good or bad or a little of both. It is important to give these memories to God and ask Him what you should take away and learn. During this process, give glory to God for His faithfulness. You could go a step further and build your own landmark. When something “big” happens in your life, capture it with a token of the moment. Each time you see it, you can praise the Lord for His faithfulness and you can tell others about it.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—
 though I know not how to relate them all. ¹⁶ I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. ¹⁷ Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. ¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. ¹⁹ Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?²⁰ Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. ²¹ You will increase my honor and comfort me once more. Psalm 71:15-21