Memories can make great testimonies

This memory popped up this morning. Three years ago today, I crossed the finish line of a 24-mile race at the Georgia Jewel.

It wasn't the furthest I'd ever run; I ran 37 miles just the year before at the Jewel. But I distinctly remember deciding to quit at the turnaround point halfway through this race in 2021. I was exhausted and dehydrated and I couldn't take another step.

Then, with a little encouragement from a friend, I decided to turn around and take another step and see how far I could get toward the finish.

I got to the finish.

There's a story in book of Joshua where God instructs the Israelites to take twelve stones from the Jordan River as a lasting memorial of how He stopped the river's flow, allowing them to cross into the Promised Land. Those stones were to serve as a physical reminder of God's faithfulness and provision whenever they faced future challenges.

When this picture popped up this morning, I thought of it at first as a Facebook memory, but then quickly thought of it as a stone. A physical reminder of God's faithfulness and provision when I needed it most.

I like memories, but oh how I desperately need reminders.

My friend Mary asked me last night if I ever get nervous speaking to groups. I told her a little, but not much. I told her when I am speaking, God always takes over. Like, I'll have sentences come out of my mouth that even I marvel at, because I know those sentences weren't mine. They were sentences I alone was not capable of generating.

But there are areas in my life where I am less confident. Where I am more prone to forgetting that God can show up in this challenge just as easily as he shows up in a sentence. I am thankful to have reminders in my life that point me to that truth.

We all need to pull stones from the river and stack them in our lives as reminders. Whether they are photos or journal entries or just moments of reflecting back on times in our lives when God showed up. Stones that point us to remembering that if God showed up in that moment of doubt, he will surely be here in this one.

Meaningful finish lines in our past are never intended to be finishes at all. They are to be stones. Stones that encourage us to boldly start and keep going in some future race in life. Especially when we get to believing we have no keep-going left in us.

So, I am grateful that Facebook pulled this photo from the Jordan River this morning. I will gratefully stack it upon my day as a testimony of what I've overcome in days gone by, and as a reminder that nothing that comes by me today can't be overcome.

Maybe you'll come across a memory today. Let it be more than a memory. Make it a stone.