In the Bible people would often pile up rocks when something important happened in their life. It was a memorial. I guess we still do that today. We've got the Vietnam memorial and other such memorials for those who sacrificed their lives for important causes. Instead of stacking up boulders we carve names in marble or make large statues. It's no different really. It's all about marking a moment in time as significant.
My life has changed more in the last four years than any other series of years in my 25 years of existence. Huge things have happened. Marriage, children, careers, graduations, lifestyle changes, etc. Family systems have been changed, sexual sins have been healed, Lord of the Rings came out, Jess' stomach has been healed, and many other huge things. It's been a wild ride, and I'm only 25.
I don't do much without being logical about it. I can't help it. I'm not real spontaneous or rash about many big choices in my life. And so I spent two years waiting, enduring my wife calling me chicken, and thinking about what my memorial would look like.
Last Saturday it finally got done. Here she is:The picture is of a magnolia flower. This is important because it represents Jess and I's relationship. We had magnolia flowers at our wedding and on our honeymoon a huge magnolia tree hung over our fourth story balcony.
The words underneath say "Beauty for Ashes" which comes from Isaiah 61:1-3. This verse has much significance to me. It is the core value scripture for Renovatus, and so it represents that aspect of my life. The scripture is talking about the transforming power of God, that he exchanges our sorrow for joy, that he transforms ashes (a sign of mourning) into beauty. This is the process that is happening in my family (all the way out to the extended ends on both sides). God is taking my family and slowly and surely renovating and transforming it into "great oaks of righteousness that the Lord might be glorified". And lastly those words represent my calling. I truly believe that "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim [this] good news..."