Why We’re Collecting Pockets Full of Rocks

As a mom of five exploring types, I’m often being asked to carry my littles’ collected rocks in my pockets. We’ve had days at the park where my pockets were full of rocks. Sometimes they’d forget about the rocks and I’d drop them back to the ground. Other times, the rocks would make it all the way home with us. In more recent years, I’ve started to keep their rocks and they are filling little jars around our home. While my children just pick them up for fun, I’ve found something symbolic in the activity. I think of them as reminders of all the ways and times God has provided for us. In Joshua 4:1-8, God instructed Joshua to collect and pile 12 stones from the Jordan River to serve as a monument to remind them and their children that because of God’s great power (Joshua 4:24) they and the ark of the covenant crossed on dry ground. This memorial would point the way forward by causing them to look back at the ways God has provided. The path has been marked out.

“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”  Joshua 4:6-8

“that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” Joshua 4:24

God has been good and faithful and gracious to me for my entire life. I can point to specific times in my personal history where God has powerfully worked something for my good and His glory.  I like telling my children and others about these times. I remember these times so the things He’s taught me won’t be forgotten.  I think of family, teachers, jobs, children, health, relationships and hundreds of other (seemingly) smaller things. For my husband and I, homeschooling has become about marking the path with these memorials for our children.  And not just how God has worked in our lives, but in their lives too. These trail markers tell the story to our children of God’s power and faithfulness to us. While we are building the memorials, He has made the way. I pray my children will see the way forward by following the path lined with memorials; not because of what we’ve done, but because of what He has done.

I’m pretty excited about the journey God has us on and I hope you’ll hang around to keep building community with us here. Happy trails! 😉