Stacking Stones

This post was written by TeenPact Student Body Representative Tessa Lynn from Oklahoma

As human beings, we are prone to quickly forget the Lord’s goodness and the ways he has provided for us. To guard against this, the Israelites participated in a custom of stacking stones and assigning a specific meaning to each stone. The stones may have represented something that God had done, a way that He provided, or something for which one was grateful, hopeful for, or struggling with. Rounded or rough, sharp or smooth, pale or plain, looks did not matter for the meaning laid in the heart of the builder. This custom was not just for the builder to remember for himself, but also so that when later generations saw these stones, they too would know of the goodness of God and have seeds of yachal planted in their hearts.  

Yachal is a Hebrew word for hope. Today our culture understands the word “hope” to mean “to wish” or “might happen” or “potentially”, but yachal is much different—it means ‘to expect’. It means “I know it will happen and until it does I will wait and trust”. Having yachal is to obtain such faith in God that we wait in expectation of what crazy thing He will use to rock our socks off! Stacking stones to foster yachal inside our hearts is not to simply be hanging on by our pinkies for Heaven—no. It is allowing Heaven to invade everything about us in the here and now. It is about knowing God’s plan for us is GOOD no matter what right now looks like. While we expect, we worship. On the edge of our seats, we worship. In great anticipation, we worship. 

This theme that is woven into the fabric of sixty-six God breathed books of history is not about the rocks or about the stacking of them, but rather the remembering and therefore the expecting. Seeing these stones would create yachal in the hearts of anyone who saw them. 

Recently, God has shown me that this tradition was not just for the Israelites, but also for me. Stacking stones can take many different forms: journaling, solitude and silence, reflecting with the Lord, and many more. The objective is to identify specific instances of the Lord’s faithfulness and assign tangible representations of them so that by it we may remember Him and His faithfulness.

If we have these stones surrounding us, then even if we forget and drift away we may trip across them and be reminded of his goodness. They will serve as a constant reminder that God has never left us. In order for this to happen, we must surround ourselves with these little representations so that when our faith is challenged we can look back and remember, look ahead and expect.

So maybe you need to get building—stacking these reminders around yourself. Placing stones of worry on top of stones of peace on top of stones of thankfulness. But maybe others of you feel distant from God. Friends, I am telling you it is time to trip over stones—take time to breathe, pick up one stone at a time and let yourself be reminded of how near He has been all along. 

When we stop paying attention to God’s Holy presence, we create a gap between ourselves and our Abba. This is why we are called to stack stones. This is the reason we must yachal. 

Student Body Representative Tessa Lynn 

The ideas, conventions, and, opinions expressed in this article are original to the author. These views are not the stated beliefs held by TeenPact Leadership Schools.  For more information on TeenPact Leadership School’s Vision and Values, please visit https://teenpact.com/vision-values/.