Stones of Remembrance

I heard a preacher this morning mention the passage in the Old Testament in which God instructs the children of Israel to construct an altar of sorts, a memorial made of stones. He tells them, when their children ask what the stones mean, they are to tell the children about the miracle God had worked in that place, thus using the stones as "stones of remembrance".

He went on to say that from time to time, we all should look back at our own "stones of remembrance" and give God praise for the things He has done. This not only brings honor and glory to God, it also strengthens our faith~when we remember what God has done for us in the past, we have greater faith and confidence that He will meet our current needs.

One of my "stones" of remembrance is a potato. Yes, that's right, a potato. I was not physically present when God performed this miracle for my parents, but they have passed this story down to me, and it has sustained me many times.

My parents were very young, and were living with 2 small girls in a tiny garage apartment. The company my Dad had been working for laid him off. They still had a few groceries in the house, and Mom and Daddy were just praying that those groceries would hold out until Daddy got more work.

There came a day when the only food left in the house was one potato, and an onion. That was it. Nothing more. Daddy told Mom to fry the potato and the onion, and he would eat the onion and she could share the potato with 2 year old Holly, and 3 year old Missy.

Mom fried the onion and they potato, and they sat down to eat. While they were eating, there was a knock on the door. Daddy opened the door and saw an elderly lady he had never met before. The lady explained that she was the sister of the woman that my parents rented the garage apartment from. She was in town visiting her sister, and the Lord laid it on her heart to give my Dad some money. She went on to explain that normally, she would send this money to her son who is a missionary, but this time, the Lord told her to go up to that garage apartment and give it to the folks that lived there. She pressed some bills into my Dad's hand, said "God Bless You", and walked away.

My Dad was so stunned, he just stared after the woman. When he looked down, he saw 6 $1 bills. This was not a lot of money by any means, but it would buy more at the grocery store then than it would now. With that $6, my Mom was able to buy bread, balogna, milk, spaghetti, and sauce~enough to last them a few days until my Dad found some work and was paid.

Almost evry time I peel or chop potatoes, I am reminded of the wonderful way the Lord provided for my family, even before I was born.

Hotels are another "stone" of remembrance for me. From the time I was 3 years old until I was almost 18, my parents operated a shelter for homeless women and children. We depended on support from local churches, individuals, and civic groups, much as a missionary would, for support. My father was often asked to travel the US, preaching and presenting our ministry in different churches.

Once, while he was on one of these trips, there had been so many people coming through the shelter that we were running very low on food. We had about 30 people in the shelter at this time, plus our family of 5~well, 4 since Dad was out of town.

We were in Chattanooga, TN. My Dad was in Chicago, Illinois. There was really nothing he could do from there, but Mom had to tell him the situation. She told him over the phone that we had enough food for breakfast and lunch, but nothing for supper, and no money for groceries. Being so far away, all he could do was pray. He instructed us to do the same.

At 12:30 that afternoon, we served lunch as usual, still having no idea where dinner would come from. So, we served lunch, and we prayed.

That afternoon about 2pm, my mother got a phone call. The gentleman on the other end of the line said that he was the manager of a local hotel. He went on to explain that they were closing for a few days to remodel their kitchen, and they had a lot of food that would be thrown out if they couldn't find someone to give it too, and we were welcome to it if we could just come and pick it up.

You never heard such shouting and praising as the praises that went up that day!! We drove to the hotel and PACKED our station wagon with all kinds of food~frozen foods, canned goods, meat, veggies, EVERYTHING.

Supper WAS served at the shelter that night, and thanks to God's perfect timing, it wasn't even late.
Now, nearly every time we check into a hotel, I am reminded of God's miraculous provision.

Now, I have a new "stone" of remembrance. It's a miniature piano.

This past Saturday, I went with my Mom and my sister over to the house that my Aunt shared with my grandmother. Now that my grandmother is in the nursing home, there is a lot of "cleaning out" to be done. My Aunt has been struggling financially for some time now since caring for her mother has only allowed her to work part time. She broke her glasses recently and has not had the money to fix them. Just as we were telling her that we were praying that she would have the $160 she needed to replace her glasses, my Mom reached up on a shelf to remove a miniature piano. Something green had caught her eye. Mom opened the lid on the miniature grand piano, and there, folded up, was some money! She unfolded the bills and counted~$167 dollars!!!

My aunt KNOWS that she didn't put the money there herself. My grandmother doesn't remember doing it. All I can tell you is that Lila needed $160, and the Lord provided it by way of a miniature grand piano!! The Lord does work in mysterious ways!!!

I would urge you, when you have a chance, sit down and think about some of your "stones of remembrance", and then share them with your children. Stones of remembrance in your life can serve as building blocks of faith in the lives of your children.

Blessings,
Vicki