A Fringe and a Cord

Last night at A Bead and a Prayer small group, we talked about what ordinary things, like the beads, move us to think about God. When the Israelites were in their forty-year sojourn in the wilderness, they kept having a tendency to forget God, or at least what God had done for them. At one point God told Moses to speak to the people, telling them to make fringes on the corners of their garments and to put a blue cord on the fringe at each corner, so that they would remember God’s commandments.

A simple thing like a fringe and a blue cord was a tangible reminder of God. The little snow globe of the Pentagon that I bought last year when I was there for Kim’s promotion ceremony is a reminder to me to lift her, all who work there and all involved in our armed forces to God, and pray for peace. A cross that belonged to Don’s grandparents is a reminder to Jen of their faithfulness for so many years of marriage. The little cross that Nancy received at a retreat would be a reminder of God every time she touched it when she put her hand in her pocket.

What are the ordinary things in your life that remind you of God? The bread and the cup, the water remind me how God has worked through such ordinary elements to bring about so much grace and mercy. As you wash your face today, remember how God has used water to bless you. Look around you to find those reminders in the midst of everyday life that God is present and with you.

Numbers 15:39-40

You have the fringe so that, when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and you shall be holy to your God.