As we walked along the beach, I pointed to a large rock on the edge of the water and asked Val if she wanted to build an altar? She spent the next thirty minutes finding just the right smoothed and rounded stones, stacking them up on top of each other (until there were twelve of various shapes and sizes) and then we sat quietly and took a photo.
LET’S REWIND THE CLOCK A LITTLE
Just one week before, the scene was a lot less calm as close to 1000 people were converging on the first ever Justice Conference to be held in South Africa. And this self same Val (aka my wife) was the person in charge of pulling the whole thing together.
It was an incredible time and vastly exceeded expectations of the team that had spent months pulling it together. But then it was time for a break and especially for Val to have a few days off to recover and recharge before she jumped back into post Conference admin.
So here we were, on a beach in Klein Brak Rivier, taking a walk along the beach and just enjoying the quiet and serenity of nature.
AN ALTAR OF REMEMBRANCE
The Bible is full of moments where God’s people built altars to remind them of how good their God was. We see it after Noah and his family are saved from the flood, after Moses and the Israelites escape the Egyptians via a miraculous walk through the parted Red Sea, and again after Jacob has had a dream from God after having just escaped the wrath of his brother.
A visual reminder that God is present and powerful and active in our lives. The idea that any time anyone saw that altar in the future they would be reminded of what God had done and remember to thank Him and give Him praise.
SPOKEN WORDS OF GRATITUDE
After Val had finished the altar, we took turns speaking lines of thankfulness for ways in which God has shown up at the Conference. From the diversity of the people on stage to the servant nature of everyone involved to the depths of conversation that were started. We spoke out line after line of thanks to God.
Our altar is a little different. People who walk along that beach may notice the stones and wonder how they came to be piled upon one another. They will just be seen as a pile of stones. But we will have the memory. And the photo. And the journey towards another conference next year perhaps and the need for a new beach walk and altar build.
WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?
There is a lot of symbolism in the Bible that I am really grateful for as it helps me connect to the invisible God. Broken bread and wine to remind us of the sacrifice that He made when He stepped in to take our place. The waters of baptism promising us there is a way for the old to be gone and for a new life to be possible. Altars built to shout aloud of a God who is not distant and removed. But who is there in the middle of the action.
Is there something you want to celebrate at the moment? A life, work or family moment that you want to give thanks for. And be reminded of? Beyond your immediate memory…
I want to encourage you to look for moments to build altars to be present in the moments of gratitude that you are part of. If you are someone who does not believe in God, then perhaps using these moments of reflection to invite God to reveal Himself in and around your life, as the God who is always there. Creating moments to bring you closer to Him in His creation.