Your Ebenezer Stone
by Hulda Bennett
At the writing retreat last weekend, one of the prompts asked:
What is your Ebenezer stone?
And I remembered the five small pebbles I brought home from Northern Ireland years ago. We had taken our family of five there, hoping to find rest. But the tension within our family was so palpable that rest seemed like a far-off dream.
Unlike the sandy beaches of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the beach there was covered with small, round pebbles. I picked up five—one for each member of our family—and brought them home with me. I wanted to remember that trip and the friends who welcomed and embraced our weary band of travelers during one of the lowest points in our family life.
They had arranged and paid for a house where we could stay, and they had even helped with the cost of our flights. We had met in Czechia and worked together for years before they returned to Northern Ireland.
Although the pain within our family followed us there, the adventure of being in a new country offered a much-needed breath of fresh air. We ate well, visited lovely places, and went to church together.
Most of all, our friends were present with us. They gave us a safe place to share our pain and prayed with us. At the time, I did not fully appreciate the gift they had given us. I was too panic-stricken by what was unraveling in our family.
Our oldest child was spiraling out of control, but her struggles were simply a visible sign of much deeper pain within our family.
I had no idea how our family’s story would unfold. I only remember being a brokenhearted mom nearly crippled by emotional pain.
Yet even in the midst of that pain, I knew in my heart that God had not forgotten us.
“Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
—1 Samuel 7:12
After God helped the Israelites defeat their enemy, the prophet Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help.”
The stone was meant to help the people of Israel remember God’s faithfulness and His intervention in their time of need.
The five stones are my Ebenezer stones. They remind me of God’s faithfulness—shown to us through the generosity and loving presence of our friends.
In the years since that trip, I have needed to remember this truth: The Lord is my ever-present help.
I especially needed to remember it as we weathered the raging waters of divorce—waters that did not leave us unscarred.
And I am learning that even when life is falling apart, God’s faithfulness and goodness do not change.
The child who was spiraling out of control is now a beautiful young woman who, in many ways, has come home. She even hires both me and her dad occasionally to help her with her growing business—an outcome I could not have imagined all those years ago.
Thus far the Lord has helped us.
And the Lord will continue to help us
.
May we remember to call on Him, especially on days when we encounter unexpected pain and must face hard and difficult things.
“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
—Hebrews 13:5
What is your Ebenezer stone, my friend?
When and where has God helped you?