Birthday Gift

This story begins a few months ago, when I got connected with my new friend Shannon's blog (Throwing our arms open wide). She has a special gift for writing, and has adopted 2 beautiful girls from China, which is of particular interest to me. I have spent many days reading her stories, re-telling them to Tim on occassion, usually with tears. Then this idea of "Memorial Box Monday" (MBM) pops up. There is a link on the sidebar to Shannon's blog, and the original creator's blog. In short, using Joshua 4:1-9 as an inspiration, the MB is a literal box, a place to put tokens/symbols/reminders of how God has worked in your life.

So about 2 weeks ago, I was telling Tim about Shannon's last MBM, and I was getting frustrated. "I want a box like that! I want a LIFE like that...where stories of God just pour out. I have NOTHING of interest, at least not like that. It's not that I don't believe God loves me, or that He hasn't provided, it's just not story-telling worthy." Tim actually scolded me slightly, and came up with a few ways just in our short time together that he thought were MB worthy. Then I did cry, disappointed in my greedy heart.

So that night the brain started churning for him. He spent approximately 20+ hours he said looking for just the right items, and he outdid himself!! Timmy bought me (us) our very own memorial box, with several items wrapped individually to jumpstart our memory story telling. He wanted it to be made of glass, so we could see the contents all the time!





I'm going to spread out the the stories over the next few weeks but the box itself is the story for now. My husband is the best listener, my best friend, my best supporter. Did you see the "title" he created for the box? "All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me." I am so thankful for Tim, his gifts, and that he points me back to our God, who so faithfully provides!! He said, "we should find things to put in there from BEFORE we met"! haha, yes dear that's the point of it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the box: the look, the contents,the title, and all that it means. Thank you so much Hunny Bunny.

In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."