I don’t expect much when I hit publish on a blog post. I know there’s a lot to read on the Internet and my writing takes a little longer to dig into than most. I’m just about as slow in writing social media posts as I am with posting pieces on the blog, so getting my work in front of a wider readership has never really been a natural thing for me. And so, when I finish a new piece and hit the button to send it into the ether, I usually look for a comment from my mom and maybe a friend or two (Thank you to those who chime in!). And that’s that.
But with this Stacking Stones post, I’ve been chatting back and forth with another commenter about the theme of rocks, remembrance, and cathedrals of stone. I had talked to him while I took in the sights in Sedona and in the weeks to follow as I remembered back on the discoveries there. There had been plenty of thoughts to blend together in one big whopping piece of memoir about it all. I guess I thought we’d covered every angle and were done talking about it. But after I posted, he had more to say.
For months I’d been working through the beginnings of my chronological Bible reading plan. Then, on the day I posted the piece about the rock stacks, I opened my Bible app and saw that of all books and all chapters of the Bible to reach at that point, next on my list was Joshua 4, the VERY book and VERY chapter that I’d quoted in my post that VERY day. Just by coincidence. Or not.
The next day, in reading Sally Clarkson’s super refreshing book, Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous Love, I came across this Antoine De Saint-Exupery quote: “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” I was stunned at the perfection of it. It seemed as if it were placed for me to find right at that very moment in light of my contemplations over the cairns at Cathedral Rock.
The day after that, I turned on the radio to the sound of Ravi Zacharias talking about how God remembers us, how He works in our memory and how He wants us to remember our encounters with him. Guess what text Mr. Zacharias pulled from. Yes. Joshua 4. Someone was sending me a message.
“The Creator of the universe is commenting on your blog post,” my husband said.
I have to admit, I got a little misty-eyed. For one so mighty, the Lord has got a tenderness about him too, a kind attention that speaks to my experience, and even to my writing. And that’s what I want my writing to be all about when it comes down to it…each essay or narrative a stone of remembrance, a place to document this ongoing conversation with him.
{When have you noticed an uncanny sequence of messages that seem to be straight from God to you? I’d love to hear how his attentiveness has left an impact on your spiritual, emotional, and creative life.}
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Those times when God speaks so clearly and directly are so precious. I have a few of those that often go back to…those memories are like a stacking stones. Each word from God like a stone that fits together into His message to me.
I always love hearing about the different themes that friends find in their communion with God. Right now, everything is about rocks for me (even BEFORE the rock stack stuff) and in the past it’s been about shooting stars (which are also rocks, I guess!). Another friend feels God’s love in the crazy amount of four-leaf clovers she finds. Another finds heart shapes everywhere she turns (on tree trunks, rocks, animal fur, clouds, etc.). 🙂
When my husband Devin came to me and told me that we were going to be moving to North Carolina in a month because he had accepted an position with Lowes in Greenville our ladies bible study had just started a new study about Jonah and it was all about Life being interrupted and how to respond to that. I don’t think that was a coincidence. My life had just been interrupted as we now had to find a place to live and find a new church and basically start completely over. I had never lived anywhere but Indianapolis. Reading that book really helped me deal with what I was going through.
Love that! Jonah’s story is such a rich one. I got a lot from reading about his bad attitude as I was having trouble with motherhood when my kids were younger and wouldn’t take naps and give me the alone time I needed to recover. Those were hard days, but reading his story helped me to accept my assignment and obey with a better attitude even through the unpleasant things. Are you in NC now?
Oh yes, I can relate. It is like reading the book of Acts as I watched the Bible continues and hearing God speak about Listening and Obeying, and then having that same theme pop up again and again, in blogs, devos, and in discussions. Yes, God does work that way with his messages for us. Sometimes it is an affirmation, or a word of encouragement before we ever face something. He is amazing and you bless us with your writing. Thank you! for sharing so thoughtfully!
Thanks for sharing, Mary. Even though I know He’s God and He’s all-present, all-knowing and all-powerful, I still wind up amazed that He somehow interacts with each and every one of us on such a personal, individual level. Awesome God.