White stones along the way

Last week, Jon’s reflection encouraged us to sit with a poem. As I listened to it through my reader app, one line in particular caught my attention, the line about white stones.

Much of our life of faith is lived in the middle ground, between what is now and what is not yet, between following Jesus here and longing to see him in his fullness, between listening for the Spirit’s whisper within and discerning the Spirits call in the world. We are a new creation, and God’s kingdom is already with us, though we will not see it in its fullness until Jesus returns.

Learning to live in this ‘in-between’ requires us to navigate carefully. Along the way, God provides markers, moments of grace, glimpses of his presence, signs that remind us we are not alone.

Pete Atkins often talks about cairns on the journey. Earlier this year, we spent a week in the Lake District, where cairns dotted the mountain paths. When my children were younger, they thought these little piles of stones were fun to kick over or scatter, until we quickly stopped them and explained their purpose. Cairns are waymarkers for walkers who lose their bearings in the mist. From that moment on, the children respected them, in fact they made a habit of adding a stone whenever they passed one. Even now, one of our children often runs ahead and begins to build a cairn of his own.

Waymarkers in faith are much the same. Some are placed by God; others by faithful Christians who have gone before us; still others by pioneers carving out new paths. All are led by the Spirit to draw us closer to God.

For me, they often come as the prophetic voice of God in moments of quiet or chaos, or through the wise counsel of a trusted friend. Sometimes they are found in the simple rhythm of creation, feet in the grass, eyes lifted to the sky, wandering through woodlands, or painting something of the beauty I see around me. At other times, they come in words, books that stir my soul, make me weep, bring me joy, or remind me afresh of the life God has given.

Waymarkers come in many shapes and sizes. Should we expect them always to look the same? Or might the Spirit interrupt us in surprising ways? Are we open to rediscovering the wisdom of ancient paths, as well as following the adventurous, sometimes messy, trailblazers who go before us?

The Israelites loved waymarkers. Whenever God intervened in their story, they built something to help them remember; the twelve stones at the river Jordon (Joshua 4), Jacob’s stone at Bethel (Genesis 28), Moses and the altar of remembrance (Exodus 17). Some of these waymarkers were already there, some placed there by God’s instruction, and some in response to divine revelation. They served as a way to help the nation remember, as waymarkers for future generations to follow faithfully. However, I’ve always found it striking that we humans create tangible reminders of divine moments, yet sometimes we end up treasuring the marker more than the God to whom it points. Waymarkers are literally markers on the way, pointing is towards who we are called to follow.

The journey of faith is full of such signs, cairns built by others, white stones placed by God, moments of grace that draw us deeper into his love. However they appear, through friends, creation, scripture, or the Spirit’s still, small voice, they remind us that even in the in-between, God is with us, leading us home.

So let me ask, who or what have been the white stones along your way, guiding you when you weren’t sure which path to take? How have they lead you closer to Jesus? If you are currently feeling lost, may the Spirit guide your steps to the next cairn.

Jo Allen

Joint CEO, Rural Ministries