stacking up stones

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Joshua telling the people to stack up twelve stones from the Jordan River for an altar after they had crossed through the river on dry ground.

And then he told the People of Israel, "In the days to come, when your children ask, 'What are these stones doing here?' tell your children this: 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry ground.'" (The Message)

What speaks most to that story is the idea of marking a place to come back to as a way of remembering, as the old adage goes, who we are and whose we are. Bob Bennett sang about what I'm talking about in a great song called "Altar in the Field":

I'll build an altar in the field
Where I'll remember

Understanding stacks of stones mean different things to different people as they find them along the way, I want to stack up a few of my own. Today marks my 401st post since I began my blog on December 27, 2005. I started writing about "food, faith, family, and friends" as a way to help me learn how to live with my depression and to connect beyond myself, both of which are inextricably tied together in my life. Stacking up the stones right now helps me because my depression is a rising tide these days.

For many years I've said I wanted to be a writer. Until I started writing this blog, I had a hard time feeling like one. Stacking up the posts like stones helps me remember I am a writer. It's an altar to which I plan to return again and again.

Peace,
Milton

P. S. -- There's a new recipe.