Alter building

   Every once in awhile, on a nice summer day, I've been known to jump in my car and drive down to my old neighborhood in the city. Not with any particular goal in mind to speak of, just to get out of the house for awhile and enjoy the day. It's about a 45 minute drive to get there, but I'm never in a hurry.
   Once I arrive, I'll pick a sidestreet to turn down, and within minutes my mind is recalling countless memories. Some are good, some are bad, some hilarious, some heartbreaking. These memories wouldn't mean nearly as much to anyone else as they would to me. After all, they weren't there. They didn't see what I saw. They don't share those memories.
   It's usually a building of some sort that sparks these memories. An old friend's house, my grade school, high school, a corner grocery store where my friends and I were known to hang out, etc..
   As crazy as it may sound, I've even been known to park my car somewhere in the neighborhood and just walk around for awhile. Sometmes it's the smallest of things that spark a memory. A small metal sign next to a parking lot, an enormous old tree that I remember trying to climb, or one that I laid under staring up at the Fall sky through brilliantly colored leaves.
   If I linger long enough on these thoughts while staring at the objects that brought back the memories, my body literally reacts as if I were there. I'll laugh out loud at the funny memories, feel my heart warmed by the loving memories, or become saddened by the heartbreaking ones.

   We all have places that bring back such memories. The vast majorities of these places were not intentional. We didn't show up at a certain location saying to ourselves: "This will be a place I will always remember because something incredible will happen here." More often than not, these places only become important to us well after the events occur.

   What these places become within our hearts and minds are alters, which, every time we see them, will remind us of past memories, be they good or bad. What's an alter?.......Funny you should ask.

   In Genesis 12:1-9, Abram was told by God to take all of his posessions and move to a foreign land based solely upon a promise from God.

  The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 
   I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
  So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
  Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
  From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
  Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

   One of the reasons Abram (Later known as Abraham) built these alters was to always remember. For many years, every time he'd walk past one of these alters, he'd recall a time when God led him, where God met him, or where God had done something absolutely incredible in his life.
   He could stop at any of these alters and teach these things to his children, or his children's children, always confirming God's love and care for them as he shared these stories.

   While it's easy to see one of the buildings - or alters - of our past and immediately recall some very distant memories, it's not always as easy to do so in our hearts. We face troubled times, financial crisis, illnesses, etc., and we forget about all of the times when we knew for certain that God had shown up in our lives in the past. But if we could somehow build something that we could look at, and suddenly remember all of the times when God simply showed up in our lives, how far would that go toward restoring our faith in Him when difficulties arise?

   Here's a project for all of you. When you find yourself with the time to do so, take a pen and paper, and write out a list of the times in your life when you know beyond a doubt that God showed up. If you're feeling creative, draw a picture, or a group of pictures that bring these memories back. It doesn't have to be a great work of art. You can even use a crayon. You'll know what each picture represents, no matter how poor the atrwork. Hang it on your refrigerator with a magnet. Put it in your purse, your wallet, or your glovebox. Have it framed and put it on your desk at work.

   Maybe it will be for your eyes only, which would definitely be enough. But maybe it would be something so silly looking that others who see it will be forced to ask the question "What is that?" If they do, you'll be just like Abraham, standing in front of the alter with his grandchildren.

   After all, God has not forgotten us, and He never will. What small token can we create to help us to always remember Him?