Stories Worth Remembering…and Telling

“Daddy, what do these rocks mean piled up by the river?” “Grandpa, why on all other nights do we eat sitting, but on this night we eat reclining?” “Mommy, why is that altar built on the mountain?” “Why do you have shoe strings on the shelf?” “What is the meaning of that key?”

“Children, you do my heart good with your inquires. Curious items indeed and all part of the telling. I have a true and fascinating story to share with you of how God wondrously intersected our family’s life.”

Our first encounter with a memorial shelf came while visiting friends five years ago. Each item was thoughtfully placed to represent a significant story in their lives and one they want to be passed on from one generation to the next. Stories that say, we are a royal priesthood and a peculiar people. Stories that say that the Lord our God is not safe…but He is goodly awesome.

“Go over before the ark of the LORD your God in the middle of the Jordan. 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 that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.” Joshua 4:5-7b

“I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old – what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done…so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” Psalm 78:2-4;6-7

So, being a man, a husband and a father who wants to rehearse to our children the faithfulness, power, wonders and praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, I figure it’s high time I get started. After a little coaching from the Scriptures and a little mentoring from our friends, we now have among other things a scrap of wood, a scorpion, shoe strings, wristband from Colombia and a key on our own memorial shelf. It’s just waiting for you to stop by for a cup of loose leaf tea and hear a story worth remembering…and telling.