The picture above is what I see as I lie in bed at night waiting for my eyes to close. It is a blue hue of the lights reflecting from our outside bushes in the top of our bedroom window. What peace these lights give me. They remind me of a day when Jesus held me close and took all of my daily challenges and worries and brought me through to the other side.
Psalm 105:5 – Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced…
Do you remember what God has done for you? Do you have any physical reminders? When Joshua led God’s people towards their new home, they had to cross the Jordan River. God parted the waters, and His people walked through on dry land. To create a memorial of this miracle, they took twelve stones from the middle of the riverbed and stacked them on the other side. When others asked what the stones meant, God’s people would tell the story of what God had done that day.
Joshua 4:5-7
“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 tel them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passes over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
Do you have a story to tell? Especially during this Christmas season when we think of baby Jesus being born for us? Physical reminders of God’s faithfulness in the past can remind us to trust Him in the present and with our future.
Our family has had a Christmas tradition for the past 16 years. Every Christmas we decorate the outside of our house with blue Christmas lights. This tradition began just after Thanksgiving in 2001. I had just been diagnosed with a brain tumor and then found out I was pregnant. After being at the hospital all evening for some diagnostic testing, my husband and I came home to our tree in the backyard being covered with blue lights. My parents had been at our house all day with our 2 and 4 year old and decided to put the lights on the tree. That tree brought me joy. It was such an unknown time in my life. I had to have total dependence on Jesus and His plan for my life and the baby I now carried. Each night I remember the light that would glow into our kitchen and family room. If you want to go back and read a bit about our brain tumor adventure you can go back and read about it in the Bible Journal post I wrote on December 10, 2017: Tested to Tears
The blue lights that hang on our bushes today are a remembrance for me and my family. They remind us of the season of life we faced 16 years ago and what God did for our family! He healed me of the tumor and brought a precious life into this world. Every year somebody comments on our blue lights and it allows me the opportunity to tell of what Jesus has done for me! To share the Hope that He gives.
What reminders do you physically have around you that remind you of what God has done and brought you through? This Christmas Season start with one thing to remind you of a promise that has come true in your life. In the stress and weariness of the days leading up to Christmas, the reminders of what God has done bring us back to reality. The reality that Christ was born for you and me. That He is real and His promises are true. We need these reminders daily, sometimes hourly!!
Joshua 4:24 “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your GOD forever.”