We need markers in our life (no, not the kind of markers in the picture). We need them in our family life—birthdays, anniversaries, special holidays. We need them in our work life—your hire date, the annual Christmas party, deadlines, open enrollment. We need them in our spiritual life—??? Oops!

Why do we not seem to celebrate key markers in our spiritual life much anymore (or am I just missing them). We have key holidays such as Easter and Christmas, but those are quickly deteriorating into commercial enterprises. We don’t reflect much or spend much time actually celebrating what we’re supposed to be celebrating (they turn more into family markers than markers of our spiritual journey).

We need markers along our spiritual path to remind us of where we’ve come from and where God is taking us. They’re important. God has used them since the very beginning. This morning I was reading about the Exodus from Egypt and guess what we find? Markers…

This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: “With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.” (Exodus 13:9, NLT)

Passover was “like a mark” to the Israelites. It was established to ensure they would always remember what God did for them…where they had been. God established this particular marker because He knew it was important. For them. For us. But we don’t do this much anymore. We need to.

Several years ago when Anita and I took a spiritual retreat together to pray and talk about going back into full-time ministry. We stole away for Winter Park. We prayed. We talked. God showed up. There was healing. There was an answer. We wanted to remember that weekend so we agreed that we would purchase a marker…some tangible, visible reminder of what God started that weekend. And we did. It’s a little silver angel that sits on the mantle in our bedroom. Whenever I see it I know that we’re doing what God asked us to do. It marks an important event. When times get tough, the marker is there to remind.

We need markers in our spiritual journey. What are the markers along your path? What markers do you need set up?