The Power of Remembering: The Ebenezer Box

by Marilynn Chadwick I don’t know about you, but my faith grows when I hear stories of God’s power. And when I personally experience a miracle, my faith seems to soar! Over the years, I’ve collected spiritual mementos to remind me of my victories—I call them my “Ebenezer Stones.” Photos, small artifacts, scraps of paper, pages of my journal, little bits of “this and that” point me back to times when God showed himself strong or interrupted the ordinary flow of daily life with a miracle. When that happened, it seemed important to pause and thank God. Then, to preserve the evidence. These little reminders help me hold onto my faith when answers to my prayers are slow in coming or when life gets really messy. My “Ebenezer Stones” remind me that nothing is impossible with God. You see, it’s not enough to simply witness God’s miracles. We also have to remember them. No wonder the word remember occurs about 400 times in the Bible! Here are just a few examples. “Remember the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:1). “So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God” (Numbers 15:40). “Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations” (1 Chronicles 16:15). Clearly, remembering is important in God’s eyes! I wanted to find a practical way to remember the amazing things God has done in my life. So I began to save my spiritual souvenirs in a special box I call my “Ebenezer Box.” Not much bigger than a shoebox, it looks like one of my grandmother’s old hat boxes. My Ebenezer Box holds treasured reminders that God is still in the miracle business. Some of my spiritual victories have been dramatic, such as the medically validated miracle that allowed us to have our three children. Those moments were like a roar. God was using His outside voice! Miracles like that get our attention. But God’s wonders are often much quieter—more like a whisper—especially when He’s working in the everyday details of daily life. And if I’m not watching, I just might miss Him! Why not start your own Ebenezer Box to help you remember God’s work in your life?