*
"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
When we think about the spiritual training of our little ones, we want to do everything we can to surround them with atmosphere of faith that will become as natural as breathing to them. We take them to church with us, teach them the Word, play worship music in our homes, and pray with them. In this way, we show them that God is not only our Creator and Savior, but that He desires to be in every part of our lives, and cares about us in both the "big" and "little" things.
The Bible records several instances where people built altars of stone as a remembrance of what God had done for them. In Genesis 13, God made a promise to Abram, and Abram built an altar and called the place Beth-el--the House of God. In Genesis 28, Jacob slept with a stone for a pillow and had his vision of the ladder. He then took that stone and made an altar to the Lord.
Later, as the Israelites would pass by these places, they would say, "This is where the Lord [did this or that thing]." And, as Samuel said, "this is where the Lord has helped us so far."
We all have experiences like that, don't we? This is where the Lord healed Mommy. This is where God provided a job for Daddy. This is where the car broke down on a lonely highway, and God sent somebody by to help.
As my own children were growing up, they would ask from time to time, "Tell us again about when God...." and we would gather them together and tell them our own "faith stories." Stories about what God has done for Daddy and Mommy before they were born; stories about what God has done for them! It is wonderful and faith-building to hear of someone at church getting healed of cancer, or a miraculous provision of money for someone we know. But our very own family stories of faith are the ones that make altars that our children will return to in their own times of faith-crisis. And the ones about which they will tell their own children.
All eight of my children made an early confession of faith, and we rejoiced. But I have found that each of them (and us!) also had to have a personal encounter with God, as a teenager or young adult. This faith that they were "born into," must, at some point, become their very own. They must have their "own" story, their own Ebenezers. Rehearsing our family stories throughout their lives gives an air of expectancy for them: God has done things for Daddy and Mommy; He will do things for me, as well. Let me encourage you to relate your own stories throughout your day or week, as well as making a special time to share a number of stories. There is nothing that will make your daily troubles and irritations look small like a trip down Ebenezer Lane!
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for creating me, and loving me. Thank you most of all for the gift of Your Son, whom You sent to earth so that we could have relationship with You once again. Thank you for caring for me in all the big and little ways; the miraculous and the "everyday," which is much more miraculous than I ever realize. Help me to remember often, the places I can point to and say, "this is where God met me." Help me to be more vocal about them, and realize that these stories will eventually be part of the "faith of our fathers," for my descendants generations from now. Don't let another day go by without my telling my children something that You have done for me.
Challenge:
Find a time to gather your family for a "story-time." As you do this a few times, your children will not wait for one story to end before they say, "don't forget about the time..." Make a big deal when something new happens, and you can say, "now we have another story to tell."
Memory Stones - Purchase a large clear vase and a bag of glass vase stones or beach glass (Walmart or craft stores). Everytime the Lord answers a prayer or a faith story happens, drop a stone in the vase. This is a beautiful way to remember what God has done!
Barbara K 2009
