November 11, 2015

"Solid Rock" Memories by Connie Inglis


As I've shared on this blog before, I haven't been writing for that many years so I don't have many writing memories that have become memorials for me. However, I do have many faith memories that have become memorials for me. Long ago I termed these memories, "rocks," just like in Joshua 4 where God asks one man from each tribe to pick a stone from the middle of the Jordan, cross into the Promised Land, and then build a memorial. Joshua 4:7--"These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever," i.e. my "Solid Rocks." 

A year ago, during a difficult family time, God gave me one such rock of promised faithfulness through a rainbow. This wasn't just any rainbow. This was a vibrant, almost electrical, iridescent rainbow that followed our car as we ribboned our way through the Coquihalla Pass in B.C. As it danced alongside our car for half an hour, I felt like I could reach out and touch it's golden strands of promise. I knew that God did this for me--to remind me that all would be well. He knew I needed a rock. He is a good God.

That being said, I do have a couple of writing "rocks" that remind me of God's faithfulness to my obedience in writing for His glory.

In 2004, after years of putting my schooling on hold,  I returned to course work by correspondence to finish my English degree. It was a return to publishable writing. For one of my courses I was asked to write a contemplative piece so I wrote a tribute to my dad from the summer when I was 15. My sister and I spent that whole summer helping build the house that my parents lived in for almost 40 years. I received a good grade so I thought I'd submit it to the MB Herald for their June Father's Day focus. When my submission was accepted, I was thrilled. It was a surprise for my parents and I couldn't wait for them to receive their copy in the mail. That published piece became my "rock" as I continued in my course work and my writing. You can read my piece here:
http://www.mbherald.com/45/08/housejake.en.html

Then in 2010 I submitted another piece for Mother's Day which you can read here:
http://mbherald.com/my-mothers-magical-kingdom/

These two pieces are part of my memorial, an alter of thanksgiving to God for the opportunity to write for Him. They are a source of strength and courage. And they are a reminder of God's faithfulness in my life and that He has made me unique, with something to offer the world through the written word.

And along with this, I never forget that I too am a rock in God's hands--a rock that He is cutting and tumbling and carving and faceting for His glory so that I can shine uniquely for Him. Part of that uniqueness is being able to write. I remember that this too is a precious "Solid Rock."


10 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:42 am GMT-7

    Yes, He is the rock in which we can solidly stand. And bask in His beauty underneath the vibrant colours of a rainbow. Thanks for these beautiful images Connie!

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    1. Thanks Lynn. God loves to speak to us through beautiful images which is so very cool.

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  2. I love the metaphor of a 'rock' to describe memorial markers as well as Jesus himself - our solid rock!

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    1. Yes Tracy. That is all part of why that metaphor means so much to me. "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"--one of my favourite hymns.

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  3. Only God could make a rainbow into a rock!

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    1. You're right Bobbi. I never thought about it that way--but God could do that.

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  4. Connie, thank you for the well worded poem to conclude your inspiring blog. The Cut of the diamond, to reflect and refract the true light. I have long been a rock collector. Such beauty and stability in rock foundations, interesting when you add the Y?, they turn into rocky foundations which seems to be the exact opposite, all by adding the why? More poetic ramblings, I suppose!

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    1. Thanks Jocelyn. I have always had a fascination with rocks but never been a true rock collector. Do you do the tumbling and all that too? And I love that God looks at each of us as special, unique, jewels.

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  5. I read your story about your mother and father, Connie, and I found them very touching. I have written about my parents from time to time. Among them are stories that I now will, like you, consider as memorial stones. On November 7 this year, I presented the eulogy for my sister Joan, who recently passed from this life. With a stone, I can also mark Joan's crossing and visualize her being freed from the Alzheimer's and 4th stage lung cancer that made her last few years a challenge. We sisters and her daughter had prayed that God would not let Joan suffer long. This same stone can also be an observance of the fact that God hears and answers our prayers.

    Thanks for this beautiful blog, Connie.

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    1. Yes, Sharon, it is important that we also remember our "stones" to be observances of God hearing and answering our prayers.

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