Memory

Memory

We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, “What do these stones mean?” Then you can tell them, “They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.” These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.

MY FATHER-IN-LAW, AL, started making an annual trek to Maroon Bells in the 1960s. Now, it’s a tourist area that can only really be reached by bus. But back then, you could drive a dusty dirt road to get to the beautiful location high in the mountains of Colorado and camp on the lakeshore.

By the time my husband, Tim, came along, his dad knew all the best places to fish—by his telling, you’d have to wade through the river, walk a mile, and almost fall in the lake—and once you arrived, the fishing was plentiful.

“We almost had a fish hatchery, the fish were so thick,” my father-in-law says now, reflecting on those early years.

One year, Al and Tim caught so many fish that they were well over the limit. They wanted to keep fishing, so they knocked on other campers’ doors and offered to share their fish. They gave many away. But if no one answered, they simply opened the camper’s cooler and stashed a fish inside.

“I hope they appreciated it,” Tim’s dad says, chuckling. “But if we hadn’t done that, we would have had to stop fishing.”

For my husband and his father, there is joy in reliving the memory. It’s the kind of tale that makes Tim grin every time he tells it. I’ve often thought that the Bible is similar: it’s a collection of memories, a family history of God and his children. It’s the story of God’s great love for his people and his unwavering pursuit in the face of their fickle, wayward hearts. Like a cherished family memory we retell time and again, the stories the Bible contains remind us of truths of love, mercy, kindness, and justice. It reflects the heart of a father for his children, and it reminds us of what matters most.

Lord, thank you that your words are like memories we can hold close and retell time and again. Help them to always resonate with us. Amen.

-Kristin

One Good Step: Write out your favorite verse. Think of it as a family memory, and consider why it holds meaning for you and what it says about God.