Bowl of Rocks

For day 6 of relationships, I wanted to share a devotional my mom did for me at one of my bridal showers.

A "rock" according to scripture is a large stone or cliff symbolizing shelter or safety or a foundation:
Genesis 49:24 - refers to the Shepherd of Israel as "the rock"
Psalm 19:14 - He is my ROCK and my redeemer
Matthew 16:18 - I will build my church upon THIS ROCK

Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Gideon, the Isrealites, Saul and King David are some examples of men throughout the Bible who used rocks to build altars upon God's instruction. The purpose for those altars was not only for worship. Psalm 78:4 says, "We will not hide (these things) from our children; We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord - of His power and the wonders He has done."

In Joshua, after the crossing of the Jordan, Joshua was instructed to set up stones - one for each tribe so that when their children ask about the stones, they would be able to say that the stones are there "that all all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever” (Joshua 4).

We always need and covet reminders that God has been and IS faithful. Like the men of the Old Testament, we sometimes fall into seasons of life where we need that reminder more than others.

At this point my mom gave me a bowl. In the bowl were two rocks. One was from the Starbucks in Stillwater where my husband and I met. The other was a rock that he picked out from our first house and gave to my mom. On each rock, there is a date, place and/or event written on it to remind us how good God has been. The foundation that He is laying in our marriage. And, a reminder to trust Him when things aren't going the way we planned. There are more rocks in our bowl now. Some are reminders of exciting and happy times, others are to remind us that we came through a trial.

These rocks sit in our kitchen and people ask about them all the time. Its a time that I can tell people the awesome things God has done for us. How He got us where we are today. It wasn't always easy, but He definitely saw us through. My prayer is that we continue to put rocks in there so that one day our kids will see all the ways God was faithful.

So what does this devotional have to do with relationships you ask? The relationship that God wants to have with each of us is incredible! God of the Universe wants an intimate relationship with all of us. When we have that relationship, we can see the foundation He lays in our life. We can see His works. When we face trial, He is there. Those trials shape us to be more like Him. Having a bowl of rocks may not seem like anything special, but for us its a reminder that the God we serve is faithful to bring us through all things.

Its important to let your kids and other people in your life see that God is bigger than any circumstance. If you are married or single, its still so important to see that God is faithful in all things.

***click here to see all 31 days of relationship posts***