Stones in the river

The sand was slippery. Soft. Shifting as we plunged through it to our tents by the river. 

Not just any river. The brilliant blue-green water rushing by this camp was the Ganga, otherwise known as the Ganges. Worshiped by millions of Hindus. 

We were located in the Himalayan foothills, closer to the river’s source.  Far from the notoriously polluted waters downstream where multitudes gather and worship. Where daily the masses bathe for spiritual cleansing. Where bodies are cremated and ashes scattered across the waters in hopes of achieving instant salvation. 

Clean sand, smooth stones

The water flowed cold, swift and high. They say in monsoon season the camp is completely covered by the rushing river. A yearly cleansing. Washing through. Leaving behind clean sand and smooth stones.

One morning, most of the group donned helmets and safety vests to glide down the river in rafts and ride the rapids. 

I sat on soft sand. Listened to the quiet. Waded in the shallows. And looked at stones rubbed smooth. Muted colors, some streaked with white. 

Collecting stones

In the ‘90s, we used to go to a beach in Karachi that had no shells. Instead, flat or oddly shaped stones littered the sand. Most had holes or round indentations in them. It made for a curious collection.

Maybe it started there. Picking up a stone and slipping it in my pocket. Adding it to a glass jar that holds shells and stones from other places in my life. 

Something solid and firm to hold in a life journey that is fluid, flowing. Like the river. Crossing borders. 

We settled in various urban centers. Moved the tent time and time again. Following His lead.

Today the jar is heavy. Full. A shout-out to my husband who doesn’t say a word, but grins and slips the jar in the moving box.

Ebenezer stone

Some stones represent spiritual markers along the way. Reminders of His faithfulness to our family. Echoing Samuel’s experience in 1 Samuel 7 when he set up a stone and called it Ebenezer, the Stone of Help, saying, “The Lord has helped us to this point” (1 Samuel 7:12).  

Those days in Rishikesh followed our first months of adjusting cross-culturally to all that is India. I knew already this place would change and challenge and stretch me in new ways.

Our last day on the Ganga, I wondered if there was a stone to add to the jar. A symbol of embracing this move and His path. A reminder that He called us here for His purpose. When I mentioned this, some friends searched the river stones with me. 

The design in the stone

One stood out. The natural design in it a startling and beautiful reminder of why we’d moved to India in the first place. 

“For God so loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I traced the cross in the river stone. And slipped it into my pocket. 

Spiritual opposition

Little did I know. 

But God knew. 

The spiritual opposition would only increase. And the life river would flood. Overwhelm us at times. The weight of it pressing down. 

In the middle of the spiritual battle against unseen forces that were worshiped all around us, the Father also revealed the hidden sin in the crevices of my own heart. 

Sin I needed to repent of. Entitlement. Selfishness. The underlying hold of pride.

Believers need the message and power of the gospel everyday. I learned this again during that season of the rising river.  

His truth strengthened and sustained in the onslaught. And called me again to “Be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). 

Anchored to the Rock

Today I look at stones picked up here and there on the journey. And know I’m anchored to the Rock. The Rock of Ages that never shifts in slippery sand. 

I remember, “The Lord has helped us to this point” and He will lead us on. 

Anchored, we walk forward. By faith. 

“I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock where I seek refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies”
(Psalm 18:1-3).

What about you? 

Do you have an Ebenezer? Have you looked back to remember and rejoice in those spiritual markers of your life?