Reminders of His Goodness

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It wasn't twelve stones from a riverbed, but it was a reminder of God's miraculous work in my life. I stumbled across this memento while looking for a scripture to accompany a blog post. I reached for a small red Bible that was on the shelf above my computer. (I don't move things around much, this Bible had been there for a very long time).




I was shocked when I thumbed through the pages. There was evidence to show that this Bible was given to me at my high school commencement service in 1984. There was an old Sunday School envelope with my maiden name and “high school” written in the blank for class. I had checked boxes for Present, Bible Brought, and Worship Attendance.









This blast from the past took me back to a time when life was easy. I thought I had this Christianity stuff down pat. Fill out the envelope, check all the boxes, follow all the rules. Pretty easy right?




As I turned a few more red-edged pages, another relic fell from its hiding place. This one was an old church bulletin. The date? August 1, 2004. That Sunday is as etched into my memory as the crossing of the Jordan on dry land must have been for the Israelites.




Between my high school graduation in 1984 and that memorable Sunday in 2004 I had learned that I didn’t have much of anything figured out. In those years I didn’t check all the boxes on the Sunday School envelope, and I had broken almost all the rules. I had run far from God because I believed I had messed up far too many times.




God kept his promise though, to never leave me or forsake me. Despite my stubborn disobedience, He rescued me from an abusive marriage. He placed me in a church and a community that loved me and my two young daughters. He offered mercy, grace, and forgiveness. He taught me that following Jesus is about much more than checking boxes and following rules.




Early in 2004, God had spoken clearly that it was time to move. God’s timing was evident in every detail. I was hired for my new job over the phone from a hospital room. (before Skype or Google) I had an offer on my house without ever putting it up for sale. God was clearly orchestrating this grand scheme.




On Saturday, July 31, 2004, (five weeks after major surgery) my parents joined us at our home in west Texas. We crammed all my worldly belongings, my two young daughters, and the dogs into a not-so-new U-Haul and two vehicles. We left late that afternoon for our drive across Texas.




We pulled into our new hometown about midnight. We spent the night at my parents’ house. Dad asked me, “Are you girls just going to sleep late in the morning?”




I knew one missed Sunday would easily turn into two—then three. I decided to make a commitment. “No,” I replied. “We will go to church.”




I was reminded of that Sunday as I read the bulletin that had been tucked away in that little red Bible. Pastor Mike Toby's sermon that morning was titled “The Joy of the Journey.” The scripture was from Philippians 3:12-21. Looking at the outline on that fifteen-year-old piece of paper reminded me of God’s faithfulness in that move and His guidance and strength as we adjusted to our new home. Like the stones the Israelites took from the bed of the Jordan River, this preserved church bulletin was a reminder to me of God’s goodness.






The outline points were:

I. Get going.

II. Don't camp too long in one spot.

III. Choose your travel companions wisely.

IV. Keep your destination clearly in mind.

V. Help your fellow travelers along the way.




What reminders of God's faithfulness do you have? How does it help you to look back on how God has worked in the past?




Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3: 12-14)



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