Signposts of memory

How remembering is a strategy for the journey forward

Summer is a good time for reflection, not only on dreams and plans for future things, but to look back and process mountain tops.

This post is for anyone asking what do I do now? after having a mountaintop¹ event—a time where you've experienced God, faith, community or personal growth in a formative and standout way.

What do we do after a uniquely rich season or experience?

Remember.

Perhaps you’re familiar with C.S. Lewis’ beloved The Chronicles of Narnia. In one of the series’ books, The Silver Chair², the lion Aslan sends a girl named Jill and her friend Scrubb on a mission. They’ve been called to the world of Narnia to help rescue a prince who was stolen by a beautiful, powerful, deceptive witch. Aslan, the book’s Christ figure, gives Jill a number of signs, or what we might consider truths, that will help the kids to be successful in their mission.

These are the last words Aslan speaks to Jill as he is about to send Jill on her journey:

… Remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs.

And, secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances.

Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.

Mountaintop experiences are concentrated times of spiritual learning and growth when there's real clarity. Whatever comes “next” after such experiences, can be unsettling.

That’s why remembering is such a vital practice and tactic for the onward journey.

Signposts of memory

In the biblical book of Joshua, there’s no question about whether God will lead his people into success and triumph. The question is: Will God’s people respond to God in obedience and realize victory?

To set them up for a chance of success, Joshua and God tag-team a memory device for the people³:

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. 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.

Throughout the book the Israelites constantly mark significant lessons from God—and significant victories—with altars of stone. You see this throughout the Old Testament. God wants them to remember specific things.

What do Memorial stones show us?

• People have a natural curiosity about things.

• Humankind has an inherent capacity to forget.

One of the most significant commands in scripture (which we see in the Old and New Testament) is to remember. And God has given us a lot of help.

He gives constant reminders to us of his promises in nature:

• Rainbows – think Noah.

• Stars – think Abraham and Sarah.

• Sand – the matriarchs and the patriarchs.

With Israel at the Jordan, as they prepared to enter the Promise Land, God commands Joshua to set up the memorial stones so that kids will ask parents what they mean. These signs create a chain of signification that arrives at an understanding and memory of God.

The story of the crossing at the Jordan would remind the parents of another crossing in Israel’s history at the Red Sea.

The Red Sea would recall Egypt and the incredible narrative of the nation’s 400 years of bondage to foreign masters, God’s unprecedented and miraculous deliverance of the whole nation, God’s promises, God’s sovereignty, and from that story names like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, would appear on the tablet of the mind and engage it into the tradition, evidence and reality of God’s purpose: fellowship with humanity.

With twelve stones, parents had an opening to tell the entire history of the human race and to teach their children about God’s ultimate purpose for the earth.

We need things like memorial stones in our lives that will remind us of God’s word and God’s work.

Two questions:

1. How good are you at forgetting? 

2. How good are you at remembering?

Personally, I’m very good at forgetting, but I’m getting better at remembering.

A memorial stone “practice” in my life is journaling. Writing down the thoughts and underthoughts. Keeping track of learnings and verses that stand out. Writing down an account of how I’ve see prayer answered or what I need prayer for. I’m always amazed when I go back to the pages and read the story God’s writing in my life.

Selecting artifacts, like a souvenir from a place where significant or profound events occurred, is another way I remember.

If you're asking What do I do next? these signposts of memory can guide. You may not know the exact steps, but you can access courage and instruction from moments of clarity and deliverance in the past.

Israel, in the time of Joshua, is a sobering example. They did well for one or two generations. But within a few decades after Joshua’s death, by the book of Judges, they are a nation gone totally astray.

They failed because they forgot.

If we want you to do well for the rest of our lives. We’ll do well to remember.

1. The mountaintop reference alludes to Peter and John’s experience after the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17—a moment of exquisite glory as heaven touched earth, a taste of eternity where all worldy burdens fell away. This was followed quickly by a return to the demon-possessed valley, where, they were quite literally incapable of solving the pressing problems suddenly before them.

2. Quote from: C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (1953). Toronto: Scholastic,1995.

3. Quoted from Joshua 4:1-7