Milestones

mile⋅stones

1. A stone functioning as a milepost.

2. A significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc.: Her getting the job of supervisor was a milestone in her career.

Events celebrated marks milestones in our lives. These milestones leave imprints on our lives and we will never be the same. Over time those imprints become like a fern pressed into a rock — stamped for life.

We have many imprints on our life. Births, starting school, graduations, college, marriage, grandchildren, jobs, retiring, and deaths are major milestones.

We often hear about stones of remembrance and in many ways they relate to milestones. We each have our “stones” or for me it is “photos.” Each photo on the mantle represents an event. Usually there comes a time when photos are put away and new ones are added as new milestones leave their imprint on my life.

As I thought about my past milestones, I brought out buried photos. Savored sweet and sad memories flooded my soul as I revisited my life’s milestone events.

Joshua 4:4-7 - "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...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.'"

The Israelites were told to pile up stones as a reminder that the Lord had done an amazing work. The stones of remembrance provide a reminder of the imprint God has made on our life during good and hard times when He is near.

Sometimes we also have ashes. Ashes remind us of painful times, failures, grief, losses, violence or difficult moments. Without the grace of God working in our life it could be easy to only see the ashes and allow those ashes to completely define us and shadow other milestone imprints.

We make choices on how the imprint of the milestone in our life will be left. Do we allow God to turn our ashes into celebrations of His goodness to us? Do we allow Him to work in our hearts and learn from Him so that we can impart the imprint’s result to others?

June marked a milestone for me as the 10th year anniversary of my mother’s graduation to glory. I felt like an orphan after she was gone with no earthly parents to talk to, receive advice, and wisdom from.

This year I chose to reflect on her family heritage which she left for those who followed. My 8th great-grandfather participated in two church plants in Dedham and Watertown, Massachusetts. My great grandfather helped plant a church in Minnesota. Today three of my mother’s grandchildren serve with AMF and another with New Tribes Mission. The imprint continues leaving a heritage.

The Word of God and His importance in my family’s life was an impression on the stones of remembrance. Joshua says, “That in the future, when your children ask, “What do these stones mean?” tell them…” The result of my mother’s life is an ongoing imprint and legacy in her children and grandchildren’s lives.

Each of us needs to make a conscious effort to remember the milestones, prepare our stones of remembrance connected with each event and pass that imprint on to the next generation.

May He be glorified!

Mary Pinkerton