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Michael Fox CPCC,
founder of m�agine!,
is a professional
coach and trainer,
author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout
the world.
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Following the death of Moses, Joshua led the nomadic nation of Israel across the Jordan River and into Canaan. Over the next thirty years, Israel, forty years removed from Egypt, would conquer and settle in Canaan--a land first promised generations before to the patriarch Abraham, a land "flowing with milk and honey."
The crossing of Israel was as majestic as it was momentous. At Joshua's direction, the priests cautiously stepped into the midst of the raging waters of the Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant upon their shoulders. The torrent deferred to the presence of the Ark; it's waters retreated and the riverbed downstream dried up. For the next several hours, Israel--some two to four million men, women and children--trekked past the Ark in the midst of the thirsty riverbed and entered the land of promise.
Following the procession and at God's direction, a representative of each of the twelve ancient families of Israel chose a large stone from the dry riverbed. The twelve men bore the stones upon their shoulders and led the priests and the Ark of the Covenant up the opposite bank of the Jordan. At the very moment when the feet of the priests stepped up from the embankment with the Ark, the restrained torrent of water was released and resumed its furious course. That night, Israel camped at Gilgal, and there the twelve stones were set up as a memorial to future generations of the day's remarkable events. Joshua explained:
In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, "What do these stones mean?" tell them, "Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over...He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful..." (Joshua 4:21b-24).
Stones of remembrance.
But enough about Israel, let me tell you about the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros.
Don't roll your eyes; it's been weeks since I last mentioned baseball.
Thirty years ago, my life was a self-afflicted mess. It wasn't apparent to many, but I was profoundly disengaged with my values and convictions. (Oh, that I may be as gracious with my words toward other prodigals.) And I was in denial. The details are unimportant; in fact, I've spent the past thirty years distancing myself from the details.
But one evening in early autumn of 1980 I casually flipped on the television. One of the networks, to my surprise, was broadcasting a baseball game. A National League Championship baseball game. A National League Championship baseball game--to my greater surprise--featuring the Phillies and the Astros. How could an entire season of baseball--in any other year the baseball season is my own "liturgical calendar"--have come and gone without my awareness? It's difficult for me to express the sense of desperation I felt at that moment; it was as if I awakened from a stupor to discover I was suddenly alone, far away from home, unable to get my bearings.
Baseball and its historic legacy, "Cooperstown," was then--and remains to this day--a "stone of remembrance" that beckoned me return to the safety of home--to reconcile with my values and convictions.
Writer John Thorn beautifully expressed baseball's power to stir my consciousness when nothing else could:
This great game opens a portal onto our past, both real and imagined, comforting us with intimations of immortality and primordial bliss. But it also holds up a mirror, showing us as we are. And sometimes baseball even serves as a beacon, revealing a path through the wilderness (Baseball: An Illustrated History, p. 58).
Stones of remembrance.
Do you have a "stone of remembrance"...someone, somewhere, something, that has the power to awaken your values and convictions? Perhaps you have more than one.
Following that "aha!" moment in the autumn of 1980, I visited my parents' home and retrieved my childhood collection of tens of thousands of baseball cards. I had abandoned them to the elements. I restored them to their former place of honor; I restored these "stones of remembrance." What "stones of remembrance" are patiently awaiting your renewed respect?
The Ark of the Covenant was God's own version of Cooperstown, baseball's Hall of Fame. Within that hallowed ark was kept the tablets of stone engraved with the the Decalogue, Aaron's staff that blossomed, and a pot of manna. What would it look like for you to craft your own "ark of the covenant"...a box containing symbols, reminders, of a covenant you might make with yourself, your God, your neighbor?
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Michael Fox
m�agine!
530/613.2774
P.O. Box 9144
Auburn, CA, USA 95604
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In addition to personal and professional coaching,
m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching,
employing its proprietary models: Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength.
Michael's books include Complete in Christ,
Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files.
Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details.
Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching.
On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities
to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees.
View our archives!
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