It’s month eight. Heck.
For some reason I am so surprised by this. It’s not like I didn’t see it coming. But nonetheless, here I am in Cambodia absolutely shocked every time I look at my watch because it says AUG across the top.
August? August. It feels like just yesterday I was in Malaysia, three days ago in India and a week ago in Haiti. But it’s been seven and a half months since I’ve seen my cat, hugged my sister or slept in my big comfy bed.
But thinking back on all that has happened since I left home for this adventure, it feels like a lifetime. All God has exposed, healed, walked me through, how I have grown, mistakes made, lessons learned and dreams developed since January is probably equalivent to all my growth in the first 21 years of my life.
I’ve kept journals throughout the whole Race. They are my day to day conversations with God, prayers, goals, dreams, burdens and joys. Scattered across my journals, eight or nine in total so far, is the record of what God has done in me.
Just as the wandering Israelites built monuments (a.k.a. ebenezers) after the Lord miraculously provided for them so their children and generations after them wouldn’t forget what the Lord did for them, I think we should build ebenezers as well.
I don’t mean we should go out and gather rocks to stack into a monument, unless you really want to of course. But doing something to keep ourselves from forgetting what the Lord has done for us, and letting it be a testimony to others as well.
Modern ebenezers are all over the place. They could be tattoos (I have two tattoos that are ebenezers now that I think about it), social media posts, conversations between friends, journal entries, almost anything can be a reminder of God’s provision for you.
I’ve been wanting to put a journal/memory book together reflecting over the past 7 months and making space for me to record the next three and a half with notes I received, fun facts from each country, ticket stubs, odd things I’ve collected or seen. And I’ve also been tossing around the idea of an ebenezer. Of something I could do to keep me from forgetting what has happened during this dynamic, challenging, stretching, season of my life.
Today it struck me that my memory book could be my ebenezer. Something thoughtfully built so I can look back with my family, friends, strangers, future children and grandchildren to praise God for all He has done in the life of this dearly loved sinner and daughter of the King.
And so my ebenezer will be a journal I buy in a few moments from the cafe I’m sitting in.
Do you have any ebenezers? I’d love to hear about them.
Do you need to reflect and build another ebenezer? I’d love to hear about that as well.
INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS POST: I had Come Thou Fount stuck in my head and one of the lyrics is ‘here I raise my ebenezer, hither by thine help I come.’ Take a listen to this version of the hymn by Kings Kaleidoscope. They’re a great band.
