Day 31 : Better Than Breadcrumbs

The further from the familiarity of home they trekked, the more carefully the crumbs were laid on the forest floor. Their surroundings quite foreign and their worries growing with every step, the only way back was to follow the path the small girl marked with her leftover breakfast bun. 

After the father left, Hansel and Gretel turned to follow the trail of breadcrumbs back home, only to discover that the morsels, along with their hope, had been snatched up by a hungry bird. They feared they would be forever left alone to die in a deep, dark wood.

.........

In seasons of life when I have looked up to find myself no where near my Father - times knowing I’d strayed too far and times it seemed that He had simply left - I’ve strained my eyes to find familiar paths to take me back to when I saw Him last. 

In the Old Testament, the Israelites used piles of large stones to memorialize a place where God proved powerful, mighty, and faithful. In these instances, the Israelites were instructed to recall and share the account of what had come to pass at this place. They would see these stones and say, “I remember when God showed up in a mighty way.” It was a way to remember that God has proven faithful, even when it didn’t seem so in the moment.

I remember hearing a sermon sometime during my college years, when the pastor encouraged us to “set up stones”. {I wish I could remember who it was, but alas, I have forgotten. Irony.} The idea was to find ways to remind yourself of times when God was there - present, active, faithful, mighty. These memorials would serve as markers on your life journey - to remind you of where you are, how to get back home, and give you confidence to keep moving forward. 

My “memorial stones” are varied in shape and size. Blog posts, journal entries, songs, pictures, kid-colored drawings of a girl on an airplane, a dried four-leaf clover, underlined scripture and notes in the margin - all reminding me of when God showed up. 

In times of trial, darkness, and doubt, I turn to look back over the terrain of my life and I can point to each of these memorials, like markers on a path, as a testament to how God has continually proven Himself faithful. Needing to remember that, even when I can’t see it in the now, God is good.

Remember being scared and lost in the woods and you dropped on your knees and prayed to find your way home? I was there. I led you home.

Remember when you said, “God, it’s not like you’re just going to drop all this money in my lap for me to go to Germany”? And what did I do? That’s right, I called you to go, I provided the way.

Remember when you prayed fervently for a little brother who was so sick and so far away? Remember when you were surrounded by dozens of people from all over the world who laid their hands on you and prayed for healing? Remember how you didn’t feel alone, abandoned, hopeless - how you actually felt peace? That was me. I was there. I was in all of it. 

Remember how you got married, moved away from family, didn’t have a job? Remember how on paper there was no possible way that all of your bills could be paid and yet you never had a late payment? I am Jehovah Jireh - I am your provider.

Remember screaming in the car on your way to work because you were so angry that you had to leave your baby and go to work? How you begged for a way to stay home? How, despite distress, you had grace and mercy carry you through each day? One day at a time? How you still found joy?  I was there, too.

And, those nights that saw little sleep, when you thought that I had gone deaf? I heard you, child, and gave you strength to get through the next day...and a second baby who slept through the night from the beginning. 

This doesn’t even begin to tell of God’s mighty hand at work in my life. And it’s funny because, though these instances are life-shaping moments, I don’t always see them. It’s like it takes major trials for me to look back and remember, when really, I need to remember them often. 

In Deuteronomy 6, God instructs Israel to remember His commandments and promises to them by talking about them, wearing them on their heads and hands, and writing them on their doorposts and gates. I think the idea was to keep these things close - to not let physical or spiritual distance cause them to forget what God had done and what He promised to do. 

He wants the same from us. He wants us to not forget the things which we have seen from His hand. He wants us to continue to see what He is doing, in joy and pain - not just cling to “that one thing He did that one time a long time ago”. Because He is still moving. He is still good. 

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Thank you for joining me in this endeavor to not forget. Thank you for allowing me a week extension to submit the last post for the series. Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments, emails, and texts. I have very much enjoyed this intense time of writing, but I am looking forward to a much earlier bedtime. 

I do have more in store for the blog in the near future - so stay tuned! You can find me here, of course, and also on Twitter and Instagram : @jasmyndenton. 

I’d love to know if you’ve spent a little time in this corner of the blogosphere, what you enjoyed, and what you’d like to have more of. 

This is the final post in the series 31 Days of Not Forgetting. If you’d like to read other posts in the series, click here and scroll to the bottom.