The Presidential Range is an impressive mountain range set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Unpredictable weather that can turn on a dime, combined with unbelievably high winds, make for an exciting hiking experience. Though I never did any overnights in the Whites, we did hike Tuckerman's Ravine and other various day-hikes that made your joints beg for mercy.
I remember my knees killing me so I decided when the trail leveled out slightly to just let my body go and not hold back. I quickly picked up speed, my eyes darting down the trail and my boots finding a place to land every second. Eventually you are careening so fast that if you stop to think about what you are doing or where to put your feet, you will bite it and it will not be pretty. So it's kind of a cool exercise in abandoning yourself to the force of gravity and turning your brain off and just dialing in to a kind of high-stakes zen-like free fall.
When you get above tree-line in the White Mountains, it can be easy to lose the trail if you're not careful. There are no trees to mark with trail marker paint, and even if you painted rocks the extreme weather would wear it away. So what hikers do is set what are called 'rock cairns'--basically piles of rocks that can be seen through fog and are impervious to weather in all four seasons. They are an effective way of keeping one on the path to the summit, and to help one find their way down as well.
In the fourth chapter of the Book of Joshua, The LORD tells Moses successor, Joshua, to
"Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." (Joshua 4:5-6)
When they have crossed the Jordan and arrive at Gilgal on the tenth day of the first month, Joshua sets up the twelve stones they had taken out of the river. Joshua said to the Israelites,
"In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, "What do these stones mean?" tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' (Joshua 4:19-21)
Remembering what God had done for them as a people, what God had delivered them from and what He had brought them into, was extremely important to the Jewish people. God did not want them to forget His saving power.
I have found the practice of setting up these cairns, or memorial stones, in my life an important reminder as well. When things get hard and we are in the weeds, it can be easy to forget what God has done for us, the times He has been faithful and delivered us, provided for us, carried us. We should learn to set stones and memorials in our lives as they occur so as not to forget, and to serve as a marker to remind us that GOD IS FAITHFUL. He will never leave us or forsake us, though we might stray from the path.
I have many many marker stones I have left that I look back to, the times when the LORD has delivered us or been there for us when we put our trust in Him:
- I try to never forget that my wife Debbie was an answer to prayer; she was God's provision for me, and I for her. We almost didn't meet! But God is faithful.
- God found us a house when we really needed it. He met all our needs when we prayed for help in a seemingly improbably scenario. The timing, the location, the fact that our offer was accepted and that we also sold our existing house, I felt were provisions from the Lord for our family. God is faithful.
- I thought my fate might lead me to be on disability and be resigned to going to a supervised workshop each day, but God has opened doors for employment--as well as closing ones--when I took it to Him in prayer. God is faithful.
- Our children are a blessing from the Lord. He has chosen us to lead them in the way that is right. To even have children at all is such a gift we do not take for granted. God is faithful.
- We have our faith, and by grace we have discovered the pearl of great price, sold everything we have to buy it, and are so grateful for the gift of faith. God is faithful.
There are many many other markers from the past that we look to when things get foggy, when we are in periods of grief and suffering and doubt, these cairns that keep us on the path. We tell the stories, to each other and to those we meet, so we can remember, singing songs of praise to God's faithfulness. When things get hard we tell each other, "He did it before, He can do it again!" and give glory to Him when He delivers. If He does not, we trust that He has a reason and give glory for that as well, for He always wills our good. In good times and bad, in comfort and suffering, we bless the Lord.
So as you go through life, lay your stones down, mark the trail, and remember all the good God has done. When things get hard, when you are in doubt, remember; tell the stories, and remember. Give thanks, trust, and remember. A grateful heart is a joyful heart, and one who trusts in the Lord will not be put to shame.
"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders." (Ps 9:1)