In Luke 17: 11-17 (AMP), we see the story of the 10 Lepers:
1 While Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing [along the border] between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance; 13 and they raised their voices and called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were [miraculously] healed and made clean. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying and praising and honoring God with a loud voice; 16 and he lay face downward at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him [over and over]. He was a [a]Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten [of you] cleansed? Where are the [other] nine?
I don’t want to be the other nine. In an effort to make sure that the One who sits on the Throne receives the glory and the honor for a very significant time in our lives when we were totally inadequate, I have been searching for a way to memorialize our flood survival.
While searching the story of the Israelites passing over the Jordan river keeps running through my head.
5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross over again to the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 6 so that this may be a sign among you; when your children ask later, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them that 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 for Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:5-7)
I am wondering if I have set up any stones in my life to memorialize the miraculous events I have witnessed God perform. Will my children come to me with questions about memorials, because of my example, so that I can tell them of the greatness of The Lord?
When we stop telling our stories our family’s faith can end with us. If He is still fighting for us why are we not expressing that to others?
If you helped our efforts with the flood during the months of February through April in any way or just were a witness to how bad it was and how good God was, we are inviting you to bring us a stone. Bring us a rock, pebble, boulder whatever you can . We want to make sure we can point to something and tell of the Goodness of God. We did not make it on our own. We made it through the biggest catastrophe of our business lifespan with blessings of God and the help of His people. We are creating a plan for the rocks to build something. It will take a while to build but we will unveil it in the spring.
Please join us this Thanksgiving in being thankful that He never leaves us or forsakes us.
He is with us through the fires and the floods.
We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving as we reflect back over the past year. We're thankful for the Lord's grace and mercy in our lives. We're thankful for our two boys who are healthy and happy. Most days, we are thankful for each other {giggle}. We're thankful our store is still open. We are thankful for employees who love coming to work and who take pride in their work. And we are thankful for our customers who help make our day with their smiles, kind words, and support.
There is always something to be grateful for--even in the hardest of times.
"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!"