Hands and house

Hands and house

Monday, June 14, 2010

God Comes Near

     It is Monday and I am back in the swing of things! Can I just share something amazing that is happening with our Memorial Box? Last week Ravenna came and took my hand and brought me over to our box. She had me sit down and cuddle up in my lap and wanted to hear story after story of what God had done. It was a sweet tender moment of sharing God's faithfulness with my daughter.
    Well...the other day I was in the kitchen and over heard Ravenna and Parker talking. Guess what they were doing? Ravenna had brought Parker over to the Memorial Box and was re-telling the stories! How amazing is that?
    If you are new here. Linny at A Place Called Simplicitystarted this amazing thing on Mondays called "Memorial Box Mondays." A Memorial Box is a place to put a little physical reminder of a story of God's faithfulness. In the Bible God tells us to remember His fiathfulness, to place 'stones of remembrance' so that we will not forget when times are hard, to tell these stories to our children and grandchildren. We started a Memorial Box a few months ago.



    This story happened high above treeline in the San Juan mountain range in Colorado. I was a backpacking guide for Young Life at the time and we were nearing the end of a hot sunny week with a group of Minnesotan teenagers. During these trips we all took a turn sharing our 'life story'. This was a time where each person shared a little bit about their life, what made them who they were and their dreams. It was a way to help teenagers get to the heart of matter a little bit.
    One girl on this trip seemed a bit more resereved than the rest. She had an edge to her and I noticed a roll of her eyes and shake of her blond head when anyone talked about their faith. She waited until the very end of the week to share. The next day we would leave the land of glorious blue sky and wide green meadows to descend back into the shady forests thick with trees. 
    The week had been a hot and sunny one with only a few cottonball clouds so we set uip a tent for lunchtime to get some shade. As we huddled close together eating peanut butter and jelly, she began to share.
    Near the end of her time sharing, she paused. Tears came to her eyes and she said, "I really want to believe in God, I want to put my faith in Him...but he just feels so far away. He feels like the little puffy clouds that we have seen this week way up high in the sky. I feel like I can se Him but I cannot touch Him. I just wish that He would draw near and wrap himself around me."
    She finished sharing and we all wrapped ourselves around her and we prayed. She was the first one to step out of the tent at the end. We all heard her gasp....
    The tent had been completely enveloped in thick clouds! Somehow, in absolute silence a bank of clouds had rolled in. She fell to her knees and we again gathered around her as she prayed.


      God came near. He knew what she needed. He did the impossible in the middle of a hot, dry Colorado summer...all for one girl's tender heart.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD..."
Jeremiah 29:13-14

I haven't figured out what to put in my Memorial Box yet...any ideas????

Update!
I sat down and told the kids this story and read Luke 15:3-7 out of their children's Bible. the story goes like this:

The Lost Sheep
Jesus told a story about a shepherd who took good care of his sheep. This shepherd had 100 sheep. One shepherd got lost! So the shepherd looked and looked for the lost sheep. He called the sheep's name! He finally found the sheep and brought it home. The shepherd was so GLAD he had found the sheep. He had a party with his friends. Jesus said that God loves us like a good shepherd. When we become part of God's family, God celebrates!

Ravenna decided that we should draw a picture to put in our Memorial Box

(she made a second copy to hang in her room to remind her)

and Parker decided they should make a tent in the living room to play the story of what God did on the mountain that day...


(those would be his 'alligator hands' apparently one of the campers is now a ferocious alligator!)

You can read more people's Memorial Box Moday stories here:














And you can read more of my Memorial Box stories

10 comments:

Tara Anderson said...

I always love your Memorial Box stories...they are such wonderful reminders of God's faithfulness! :)

Mrs. Winn said...

How awesome is that! I love how He speaks His truth to our hearts.

Maybe a stretched out cotton ball, like a puffy cloud?

~Kelly

Stephanie @ It Is Well said...

Love it! Both your story and your little ones getting in on learning about what God has done and is doing. :)

Maybe draw (or tell the kids the story and have them help) a tent and glue some stretched out cotton ball over it?

SarahTien said...

I was singing "I'm just a little black rain cloud" in my head...maybe a figurine of pooh bear holding a balloon? :-)
Keep the stories coming Shannon, they are great!

Stephanie said...

Amazing!!! Thanks for all your beautiful stories!!

LivingSimply, SimplyLiving said...

I have to tell you that I just love your post and your blog and your unending devotion.
I must admit..to become closer to God and my family I have retreated from blogging and commenting..b/c it is very time consuming and was taking me away from my kiddies or making me make them wait way too much.
BUT YOUR BLOG..IS A MUST.
Your blog is food for a hungry soul.
I LEARN SO MUCH AND IT GIVES ME A DEEP DESIRE TO TRY TO ATTAIN TO BE A BETTER VERSION OF MYSELF.
So, while I do not comment as often..know your words STILL are being read and are such a huge inspiration!

Renee said...

As usual, I am wiping tears as I read your blog post. A beautiful MBM story today....And what is so precious is how your children are involved and becoming such strong faith-full followers of Christ as such young ages.. Praise God!

Marci said...

So great Shannon! Yes, we see those same amazing events every week at our camp!!! It is great to know that others "get it" and have experienced or been used by God at camps too!

Thanks for sharing and commenting! I pray that I'll have many many other things to share this summer!

Anonymous said...

That is an incredible story. Wow. Thanks for sharing.

Mom Of Many said...

What a beautiful story...it reminds me of when a young woman was spending the night at our home..and she was praying to "become a virgin again"...and instantly the room was glowing white...she felt it, I felt it...it was bright and beautiful and very "virginal"...no doubt, the Holy Spirit had shown up big time...it was amazing...

Thank you for sharing! xo

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