Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah
and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—”the stone of help”—for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT
As I was cleaning underneath our bedside table this weekend, I found what was left of a little tube of ointment that at one time I could not live without.
This is what I used to put into my eyes every night before going to sleep to prevent the corneas from attaching to my eyelids (and subsequently ripping when I awoke). It is fitting that I would come across this tube within the past couple of days, as last Tuesday marked one year since my eye surgery. Although that surgery was the toughest I’ve ever been through, it absolutely changed my life. This is my Ebenezer. My marker. My testimony. I experienced God’s amazing healing power, and I am so thankful!
What is an Ebenezer?
Ebenezer literally means “stone of help.” The Ebenezer stone that Samuel set up was a stone of remembrance of God’s help and protection of the Israelites from the Philistines. And although I’ve not experienced the defeat of an entire army on my behalf, I have seen such amazing blessings of God in my life and in the lives of others. I share this because it encourages me to hear the testimony of others. And I just want to raise a few of my Ebenezer stones for others to see, hear, and marvel at God’s power.
My Ebenezer Stones (just a few)
In September 2013, Levi broke his arm above the elbow. After several hours in the local ER, we were told he would need surgery to pin his bones back together. The next morning, we arrived at the orthopedic clinic in preparation for surgery. When they re-took one of the x-rays prior to the surgery, they found that the bones had realigned by themselves! Three weeks and one day later, he walked out of the ortho clinic with no cast.
In December 2012, I had an eye surgery that allowed me to finally go to sleep without fear. Today, I have 20/20 vision and have been completely healed of Map Dot Dystrophy. You can read more about the surgery here or the recovery here.
In November 2012, I was jolted by Levi’s screams as I found him holding a pick-up stick that was stuck in his eye. You can read that story here.
In September 2012, a dear friend of mine faced a burden none of us would want to bear. You can read her story, linked at the bottom of our Power of Prayer post. It absolutely blows me away.
In November 2009, the doctors found tumors on my ovaries. When they went in to perform the surgery, the tumors had totally disappeared with no treatment. The doctor was perplexed.
And… if you think about the incredible miracle of a baby, or the miracle of a person accepting Christ as his savior, or how God will move us from one place to the next until our hearts are turned towards his plan for our lives, I could list each of those here as well. Really, there are so many times God has helped me. How many do I not even recognize?
Of those blessings I have taken the time to write about in my journal, and those events I’ve actually written down on real stones (as a remembrance for my children to see), I simply share some stories with the world in hopes that it encourages someone who might be in the midst of a trial. Or someone who may simply be strengthened (as I am) by hearing such testimonies. Which brings me to ask…
What’s your Ebenezer? (Raise your Ebenezer Stone by leaving a comment to share your own stories! It will truly edify and encourage me to hear your testimony, and it will exalt the One who works all things together for our good!)
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood. —Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
