My kids love rocks. They collect them. You can always find rocks lying around our house & if you have rocks at your house and the Tharpe kids visit, you will be missing some by the time we leave. I think we have rocks from every driveway we’ve ever parked in - little did I know how one of those rocks would play an important role in our story. A few months back, S & E were having a hard time sleeping at night. They were waking up several times at night complaining about “scary dreams.”
One night before bed, I was all but pleading with them to not get out of their bed & to sleep all night so Mommy & Daddy could rest. I noticed a pretty good size rock sitting on their bookshelf (I'm not sure whose driveway its from :), and I pointed it out to them. I told them about how in the bible, Samuel takes a rock & names it Ebenezer and that means “God is our helper.” I told them that if they were to wake at night, just to look at that rock & remember that God is their helper & he is watching over them. So, for months now, that rock has stayed in that same place & every time I see it, it reminds me of the same truth I was trying to teach my daughters.
Fast forward several months to this past week. The rental property that we have lived in the past several years is being sold. We have to move soon. We are not financially nor spiritually ready to buy a house. We don’t feel that’s something the Lord has told us to do yet & so we’re not. But, we need to find a new home quickly. I was burdened by this for just a few minutes & then it was as if this indescribable peace came upon our home. We’ve been praying for a new place to live for a long time now. And finally, God has shut this door and we are looking for another one. During church this past Sunday, we sang the song Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing—a song I’ve sang many times, but has never spoken to me the way it did Sunday. . . . .
Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come and I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.I was done. I knew that God had specifically spoke to my heart in that very moment. I knew that by his good help, we would be just fine --- this is my Ebenezer, my help.
That rock now sits on my kitchen window seal for us all to see. It is our Ebenezer. And it will move with us to our new place, when we arrive safely at
home.
Please pray with us. Pray that God will give us a place to live that we can afford. A place with enough room for our family & friends who we would love to come visit us. A place that is safe.
