“Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
Joshua 4:5-7 NIV
The door that separated my grandparents’ kitchen from the dining room was a swinging door that often was propped open by a large, black cannonball. Like several other artifacts in my grandma’s house, it came from the Civil War and served as a touchstone connection to our past as proud patriots, willing to die for this country even as far back as its founding.
Not everything we keep in our homes and in our lives has meaning, but what about the objects we keep packing up and unpacking from house to house? What do we hold onto with reverence and display with pride?
I often think about the objects of significance in my life. To accommodate my favorite treasures—books—we have built more and more shelves. From time to time, I run my finger over their covers and remember the gifts of their stories. I have a lot of photos, especially of family, sitting on the same shelves or hanging on our walls.
There are framed poems in the kitchen celebrating the sacredness in mundane things, like preparing meals and making coffee. We don’t have many knickknacks, but the ones we do have are connected to friends and family—gifts we’ve been given and trinkets that have been passed down.
Because I have always been an old woman, we have several framed cross-stitches of Bible verses next to photos.
On my desk is yet another framed cross-stitch that says, “Stop. Collaborate. Listen,” and a mug that says, “I am silently correcting your grammar.” There’s a map with all of the national parks on it, some that we’ve been able to visit and more that we want to see one day, and in the dining and living rooms, there are paintings of mountains and natural landscapes.
We’ve intentionally collected these stones and built our memorials throughout our home so that, when our children and their children ask us, what do these stones mean, we’ll have a story to tell them, a story of joy, family, faith, awe, adventure, and love.
Points of Reflection
- What “stones of remembrance” decorated your home as a child? What did those objects communicate to you about your family’s values?
- What memorials, or “stones of remembrance” have you established—either intentionally or unintentionally?
For the Kids
- What are some things in your home that you think are special or have a story behind them? Why do you think they are important to your family?
- The Israelites used stones to remember an important event. Why do you think it’s important to remember things from the past? Can you think of a story or a memory that you or your family likes to talk about? How does it make you feel when you hear or share these stories?
Action
The Israelites set up their memorial using large stones from the Jordan River. People throughout history have established memorials to remember loved ones and historical events using nature as their canvas. You can do the same in your own backyard by starting a memory garden. Plants and gardens can help us tell stories and remember important events. Select trees, shrubs, or flowers that have special meaning to you. Install a birdbath to attract birds that remind you of a loved one who has passed. If you are a collector of stones, include them in your landscape. Let the garden evolve with your family’s story—you could plant a tree or a new perennial plant to signify an important event in your family’s life. Partner with creation to sew your story into nature.
Reading
One of the most intriguing and magical books I’ve read in a long time is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which has its own collection of extraordinary objects and artifacts that carry significance, linking the characters to each other throughout the book. It is a delightful, imaginative novel—block off a large chunk of time because you will want to get lost in its story.
Copyright
2024
Root and Vine