Milestones
My daughter graduates today. Not from high school or college but from middle school. I have some issues with diluting the impact of what graduation signifies – the rite of passage, if you will, by society’s need to celebrate “graduation” from everything from preschool to middle school. Yet, as I was forced to reflect on the past fourteen years of my daughter’s life thus far so that I could write a blessing for her, I realized that there have already been many milestones in her life that show God’s hand on her life. Those are worth remembering, including this one – graduating from middle school so that she can take the next step God has for her on her journey as a Christian and young woman.
Milestones should be remembered. In fact, early Bible heroes consciously chose to build monuments, often altars, to memorialize encounters with God in their lives. That way, they could worship Him on other occasions when they or their descendants came upon those memorials. On other occasions, as was the case with Joshua and the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan River on dry land, God called them to build a memorial. (Joshua 4:1-8) God did so not only so they would remember what He had done, but also so that future generations and other nations would as well. (Joshua 4:21-23)
The meaning of the Hebrew word for memorial in this context is “zikkarown,” which means remembrance or record. For us, like the Israelites, memorials remind us of God’s faithfulness – of our history and the lessons we learned along the way. They are also important to remind us to share the redemptive work God has done in our lives so that others may see the healing power of a life with Jesus. Our stories are like markers; ever-evolving memorials to the testament of a redeeming God. They help others see the transformation Jesus makes in our lives.
Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.
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The people crossed the Jordan….Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the (other) twelve stones (the Israelites had) taken from the Jordan River.” – Joshua 4:9, 19-20 (excerpted)
The cool thing about this story is that two memorials were built – one was in the middle of the river where it would be covered by the water most of the time and the other was on the land which the Israelites crossed to. It would be there for everyone to see. While the Jewish people today joke that the Jordan River is a creek with good PR, there are spots where it is still wider and has characteristics of the powerful river it once was in Joshua’s day.
In theory, Joshua’s memorial in the middle of the Jordan River was likely covered during the harvest season, if not most of the year. Then why build it? What good is a memorial you can’t see? I believe it was Joshua’s memorial that only he needed to remember – or perhaps it was a memory to be cherished in his heart. And while the world maybe wouldn’t benefit by it, Joshua would and it would go with him. It was also a lesson to us that some milestones may be personal to us alone and others are to be shared.
Congrats to your dear daughter.
Nice post, Niccol! Hope you enjoyed the graduation day with the family. Give your daughter a “high-five” from Ohio!
Congrats to your daughter. Many more milestones ahead of you with her. Enjoy. 🙂
Thank you for the reminder that we should always remember God’s faithfulness.
Congratulations to your daughters milestone.
Hi, I am preparing something on the stones but have to visualise them by balloons hanging above the water during a service at the waterfront.
The story also mentiones Joshua stands very high in the eyes of the people. That’s the thing with ceremonies. Perhaps is the meaning a bit hidden (like hidden stones in the river) but while you fulfill the placing of the stones as a ceremony, people had to give Joshua the credits of understanding it all. In Joshua 3 and 4 the stature of Joshua is a topic. Perhaps the meaning of stones should not be split from the topic.
I like your photo with the twelve hats, many steps have to be taken to wisdom. Never to forget the steps that God has taken for you!
The story also mentiones Joshua stands very high in the eyes of the people. That’s the thing with ceremonies. Perhaps is the meaning a bit hidden (like hidden stones in the river) but while you fulfill the placing of the stones as a ceremonie, people had to give Joshua the honour of understanding it all. In Joshua 3 and 4 the stuture of Joshua is a topic. Perhaps the meaning of stones should not be split from the topic.