A Stone of Remembrance

This book is about finding courage to live the life you've been given. It's about learning to cast off fear. It's about the faithfulness of God to do what he says he will do. Life can throw some pretty awful stuff at us, but we can overcome our fear by remembering how God has helped us in the past. Looking back to the biblical story of God's faithfulness when his people--the Children of Israel--were under attack, we find that the great judge Samuel set up a "Stone of Remembrance" (1 Samuel 7) so that by looking back and remembering God's faithfulness they could find courage to move on. Author Gwen Ellis weaves together stories of God's faithfulness to his people and God's faithfulness to her and her family for more than three-quarters of a century. There is much to fear in the world today and we need reminders of God's faithfulness to those who love him. God is there when scary things happen and he cares. He cares when you don't have two nickels to rub together. He cares when cancer or other life threatening illnesses happen . God cares when babies die. He cares about your sick kids. He cares about your belligerent teenagers and the struggles you may be having with them. God cares when the world seems to be careening out of control when wars and rumors of wars blaze across our TV screens 24/7. The author shares about the loss of her two babies, her war with cancer, and how she is still alive more than 20 years later. She tells about a lifelong irreversible diagnosis for a grandchild and about God's faithfulness to that child. She also pulls into the book, stories and poems that illustrate how God wants to help us if we will just turn to him and how he is wooing us to come be his children. The final chapter is called "The Wager". An ancient philosopher, Blaise Pascal, wrote about the wager--the "bet"--he took with regard to the existence of God. He said,"You want to be cured of unbelief and you ask for the remedy: learn from those who were once bound like you and who now wager all they have. These are people who know the road you wish to follow, who have been cured of the affliction of which you wish to be cured: follow the way by which they began. They behaved just as if they did believe . . What have you to lose?" Author Ellis asks the same question: What do you have to lose by betting God exists and that he loves you? That he wants to take your fear away, and that he is all he claims to be?