Hey there,
If you were at our Sunday services yesterday, you may have heard about the ordinary stones my family used to pick up from state and national parks. Before I retired from the military we moved a lot, and hitting the parks along the way became our thing. Those simple rocks helped us remember the places we’d been.
I didn’t have time to mention this yesterday, but we also collect magnets from our travels. We had so many that the fridge was looking pretty bad, so we started a wall. There’s a section over our stairs to the basement now that’s over six feet tall by three feet wide, and it’s full of magnets. :) Those magnets do the same job the stones did—they help us (and the kids) remember where we’ve been and what we’ve seen.
Yesterday I also talked a little about another set of ordinary stones—the ones Joshua had twelve men carry out of the middle of the Jordan. (see Joshua Chpt 4) God told them to set those rocks up as a memorial so that when future generations asked, “What do these stones mean to you?”, the story of how the Lord brought them across on dry ground would still be told. The bread and the cup we shared yesterday at the Lord’s Supper are ordinary in the same way. Jesus set those emblems as a memorial, so we’d remember what He did and keep proclaiming it until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Those aren’t the only things God has put out there to help us remember, though. Sometimes He wanted His people to remember a specific event, but even then it was never just about the event. It was about remembering Him—who He is and what He’s done.
Look at creation itself. Romans 1:20 says that God’s invisible attributes—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly perceived since the creation of the world, through the things that have been made. The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Every sunrise, every night sky full of stars, every mountain range or crashing wave is a physical reminder that Someone bigger than us is behind it all. We don’t have to invent the memorial; God already scattered it across the sky and the landscape.
That’s why we need to do a better job of teaching our kids (and reminding ourselves) what to do with those moments. When they see the sunrise, they shouldn’t just think, “Oh, how pretty.” They should be learning to think, “Wow, our God is awesome.” The beauty isn’t the end of the story. It’s a prompt to remember the One who made it.
He uses our senses the same way. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). A good meal, a cold drink on a hot day, the sweetness of fruit, the smell and warmth of fresh bread—these ordinary experiences can become prompts. They invite us to pause and remember that every good gift comes from Him. The taste itself isn’t the point. The taste is meant to point us back to the Giver.
There’s even some science behind why this works so well. Smell and taste have a special link to memory—researchers talk about the “Proust effect,” where a scent or flavor can suddenly bring an old memory flooding back. Touch can do the same. God built us this way for a reason. Those ordinary physical things aren’t just nice experiences; they’re wired to help us remember.
That’s the pattern I keep seeing. God takes things that are common and gives them a purpose: so that when we notice them, or when someone asks what they mean, the story gets told again. The stone in my pocket from that park in South Dakota isn’t special on its own. The magnet wall over our basement stairs isn’t either. But they can still do the work of a memorial if we let them. They can turn our hearts back to the God who made the places we visited and who has walked with our family through every move.
The same is true for you. Next time you look up at the night sky, or bite into something that tastes especially good, or pick up an ordinary rock, or notice a magnet on the wall, let it prompt the question: what does this remind me of about God? You don’t have to force a long theological reflection. Just pause long enough to remember that He is good, that He is powerful, and that He has not left us without reminders.
God has already filled the world with ordinary things that can help us keep the story alive. We just have to notice them—and help the next generation notice them too.
Hope you have a great week, God bless!
~ Charlie
