Set a memorial marker

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them …” Joshua 4:5-7 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Set a memorial marker”

It has been almost six months since my wife Linda died. Over those months I have written about her multiple times in devotional messages – if doing so had something to do with the topic of the devotional for that day. It has been helpful for me to do that. Talking and writing is therapeutic. Grief counselors tell us that grieving spouses want and need other people to say their spouses name, to talk about him or her, and to listen as they talk about them. So, thank you for being patient with me as I share a personal insight with you that is important to me at this time in my life, but which might be helpful to you as well.

Recently the Lord brought me to an important understanding as I move along this road of grief and recovery. Linda and I had forty-seven good years together as life partners. Together we built a good life. She played a key role in everything I accomplished over those years. My life going forward from here will be built upon the foundation of the life we built together over those years. Therefore, Linda’s influence in my life will continue. She will always be a part of me. Going forward, I will remember and treasure those memories, but I will also live fully in the present and I will move forward into the future. I’m pretty certain I will never marry again. I plan to remain a single man the rest of my life. But I also believe the Lord still has a lot for me to do for Him and therefore I need to focus my attention on that.

To memorialize and solidify in my mind and heart that moment of insight from God, I did what the Israelites did in Joshua 4:5-7. The Israelites set stones at the banks of the Jordan River to establish a memorial marker as a symbol of God’s past faithfulness; and of His presence with them in that moment; and for His promise for the future. In my case, I laid a stone at the foot of the cross that we keep on the stage in our church for that purpose. That stone is a memorial marker to thank God for those forty-seven years with Linda, and for the truth that He is with me now in this difficult time, and that He will continue to be with me as I move forward into the future.

Establishing memorials and setting markers like that are indications of renewed hope. Perhaps you have something that you need to give to God as you work to establish a sense of renewed hope in your own life. Continue working on that, and when God gives you some clarity about it, set a marker as a memorial of the moment. The memorial could be anything – perhaps a stone at the foot of the cross – or just something visual to remind you of the moment.

It’s important and helpful for us to remember the past. But then we must resolve to live in the present and move forward into the future. I still miss Linda terribly every day, and I still have periods of sadness every day – sometimes deep sadness. But I also know I have more life to live and that God has more for me to do. A memorial marker can help us honor the past and move forward into the future with renewed hope.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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