How’s the new year going? If you are anything like me, you went from zero to hundred overnight after the holidays. The year starts fast and furious, and we settle into that speed for the next twelve months. A danger for me is to leave the previous year without reflecting on all that God has done. I turn the calendar, racing into the next year, without pausing to recognize God.

An annual pause is a good place to start, but there was a practice long ago, where early followers of God commemorated or memorialized monumental events as they happened in their lives. These people were so moved by what had transpired that they paused in their life to recognize the event.

Many examples are written in the Old Testament of people building altars, pillars, or stone monuments, commemorating encounters with God. Noah built an altar immediately leaving the ark (Genesis 8:20). After receiving his calling and promise from God, Abraham built an altar.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7

After an encounter with God where He repeated the promise of Abraham, Isaac built an altar.

So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well. Genesis 26:25

Jacob built an altar after he experienced God in Genesis 33. Moses built an altar and twelve pillars in Genesis 24 at the foot of Mount Sinai after receiving the commandments. And, Joshua, after crossing the flooded Jordan River, built a memorial of the event.

Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” Joshua 4:2-7

There was a story of God behind each altar or pillar. In each event, the people paused, praised, and worshipped God. They recognized God as being sovereign over the events in their lives. Additionally, Joshua says that the stones will be a monument where children will remember God. The practice passed down faith from generation to generation.

Altars or stones of remembrance are a lost practice in our world today. Events happen, blessings come from above, miracles take place, prayers are answered, people are saved, God touches in unique ways, and life goes on. Rarely do we pause to commemorate what happened. The events fade into the history of our busy lives. We all miss an incredible opportunity to remember the blessings of God regularly in our lives and teach our kids about a faithful Father.

If we aren’t careful, with all that is going on in our world today, we will miss God’s grace. We will look back over the past year as a time of struggle and hopelessness. But, if you take a moment to pause and think, you will find evidence of God’s grace in your life. Maybe, a time where God moved in a special way. Now might be a good time to recognize it, commemorate it, write it down, maybe start a journal of blessings or a jar with stones of remembrance. These memorials will be treasures to future generations. And, your faith in a good God will grow.

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