Memory Stones

Every time I visit my neighbor, I pass stacked stones next to her door. This cairn, seen by her children and now grandchildren, witnesses to specific God-sightings from their family history. It serves the same purpose as the stones God commanded Israel to set up after crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Jacob and Samuel also set up stones as ways to remember what God had done. I decided to make my own memory cairn — but drawn on paper. Each stone bears a phrase recalling a specific event where God did something remarkable. At present, 76 stones are labeled. The latest one says, “six God-sightings at O’Hare.” A few months before my husband’s emergency brain surgery, he made uncharacteristic mistakes at the airport. Six times God sent a person to set us back on track. Incredible, God — Incredible-God. And I deliberately remember.