First Standing Stone: God’s Presence through Childhood
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
–Proverbs 22:6
There is a Chinese saying: 饮水思源。The literal translation is: 饮(drink)水(water)思(think)源 (source), or Drink water and think of its source. This means that we need to look back to where we came from in each stage of our life. It is reminder for us not to forget our past and be grateful for what we have and have become. This Chinese mantra is about indebtedness. It is about remembering.
In Deuteronomy 16, God instructs the Israelites to observe festive celebrations “. . . so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt…” (3, 12). God wants his people to remember all their lives throughout the generations that special day of liberation so that they will not forget their Redeemer God, who freed them from the bondage of slavery and brought them to the Promise Land.
My first standing stone was established on the day I was born, when my mother nearly died of hemorrhage during childbirth. All my life, I will never forget God’s grace and mercy to me—a helpless baby. How different my life would have been without a mother to take care of me! How precious God’s gift to me—a mother whose faith in God brought me to the knowledge and salvation of Jesus Christ! I will remember all the days of my life that the day I came into this world, God saved my mother and saved me from being an orphan.
Although I cannot remember when my mother first told me about the day she nearly died on the delivery table after I was born, I will never stop celebrating this salvation day.
In our lives, we need to celebrate our standing stones—the twists and turns of significant events that happen along our journeys. Each time we remember these milestones, we are encouraged that God is sovereign and faithful as he accompanies us and sees us through all seasons, good or bad. Each standing stone teaches us a lesson in joy, thankfulness, courage, resilience, patience, faith, and perseverance.
Thank you, heavenly Father for giving me a mother to train me in the way that I should live my life. Let me always remember to stay on the right path even when I am old, I shall not depart from your Word. Amen.