Why Twelve Stones?

Joshua 4:19-24 "The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan, and he said to the Israelites, "When your children ask their fathers in the future, 'What is the meaning of these stones?' you should tell your children, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. This is so that all the people of the earth may know that the LORD's hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God."

I have a picture on my desk that always makes me smile.

It’s a picture of my wife, Melissa, and me in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It’s really nothing more than just a snapshot, but what it represents is absolutely revolutionary in my young family’s life.

At the time the picture was taken, Melissa and I had been married for four years and two months and were celebrating a “second honeymoon”. We were celebrating the miracle that God performed in our lives by healing Melissa from Fibromyalgia Syndrome, a chronic pain syndrome that she had experienced for the majority of our married life. She had been on powerful and very addictive pain medications for several years. The result was a dulling of her pain, but also a dulling of her emotions and senses. Through a series of events, God performed a work of healing in Melissa’s body and she was able to completely and quickly wean herself from those medications. As a result, the sparkle returned to her eyes and her smile. Through that experience, I also learned a valuable lesson in how to truly love my wife “in sickness and in health.”

The picture on my desk is the first of many pictures that gives evidence of that miracle. I keep it out as a visual reminder of God’s faithfulness and His power. If and when our children or anyone ask, I am always ready to give an account of that faithfulness and power that brought us through a very dark time in our lives.

Take a look around today. Do you have any souvenirs from your journey with God thus far? It may be a picture or a trinket. It may even be a scar or a limp. Whatever it is, always be ready to tell your story about the faithfulness and power of God.

Thank you, Father, for portraits of grace in our lives, for images and reminders of our journey with you. May we always be ready to tell our story.