Years ago my husband Steve and I lived in a small town outside Lexington, Kentucky. All through the area old stone walls stitch together fields and pastures into a landscape quilt. We often marveled at the workmanship as well as the time and effort required.
According to historians, the rocks were gathered out of the fields by Scot-Irish immigrants of the 1700s, who settled the area and needed to clear the land for farms. They used the same dry masonry skills of their ancestors back in the British Isles.
As decades passed new immigrants built more walls as did the slaves who followed.
(Similar walls in Ireland)
Those stone walls came to mind as I read again a story of Samuel, recorded in 1 Samuel 7:1-12. He set up a memorial stone in celebration of an Israelite victory over the Philistines. Samuel called it Ebenezer (which means Stone of Help), explaining that “thus far the Lord has helped us.”
Thus far in our lives the Lord has helped you and me also. And if we collected a rock to represent each time God has helped us, we’d surely accumulate enough to construct many walls, stitching together our experiences into a kingdom quilt—in the kingdom of God, that is.
And what a memorial it would be to God’s faithfulness!
As many of you know, I began a journal in 1983 of God’s faithfulness to our family—a record of his provision, protection, guidance, and blessing. To date there are nearly 1400 entries.
(Note how yellowed these early pages have become!)
If I gathered a Stone of Help for every event noted, I could build a wall ten stones high and nearly 140 feet long. No doubt a record of your life would produce a similar-sized wall, perhaps longer.
Imagine an aerial view of thousands of such walls criss-crossing the landscape—a visual reminder of God’s faithfulness to all of us. Our eyes would pop in wonder.
During this challenging year of 2020, God has demonstrated his faithfulness in numerous ways.
I am particularly thankful for:
- Sightings of wildlife that turn window glances into marvel fests
- Family and friends within easy reach through various forms of technology
- Livestreamed church services that allow Sunday worship with our congregation
- No hospitalizations for Steve in 2020 (Last year he was admitted four times for various problems related to his liver transplant and a subdural hematoma.)
- Emotional and spiritual health in spite of isolation
And all of us have benefited from God’s unending supply of strength. We’d do well to remember:
I’m guessing you can remember a situation or two when you thought it impossible to press on. But you did—because of God’s enablement.
Other times responsibilities piled up to impossible heights, and the emotional crush was nearly unbearable. But then—miraculously—cancellations and postponements occurred, assistance materialized, and the pile decreased to manageable size–because of God’s intervention.
And why is all this looking back at the past significant? Because:
Where others might say, “So far, so good!” and hope for the best, we say, “So far, so God!” and rely on him whose help is certain. He never fails to do what he has spoken (Psalm 145:13b).
The millions of virtual Ebenezers among us provide reliable evidence we can count on–for 2021 and beyond.
A blessed and confident New Year to all!
Art & photo credits: http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.needpix.com; Nancy Ruegg; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.pixabay.com.
From the Inside Out 