In my wanderings over the last few days I have come across a couple of cairns. Cairns are simply a man made pile of rocks that can serve a variety of purposes. When I’m hiking around Bass Lake north of Ely, MN cairns mark some of the trail as it runs across a rocky ridge line. Cairns might mark a boundary or they might serve as a reminder. The Israelites picked up and piles stones as a reminder of what God did for them that day.
I’m not sure of the original purpose of either cairn I discovered. I’m pretty sure was was simply a creative expression with the rocks being stacked on a piece of driftwood along the beach.
The other though I think was away for people to say I was here as they added to the stack. At least that is what I was thinking as I place yet another stone atop the pile.
I have a cairn outside the door to my hermitage at home that I created as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to me and my family. We (my family) all placed stones as a way to remember.
As I thought about these stone cairns my mind began to think about some of the spiritual cairns in my life. Those places or events or people that were key to me becoming the person I am today. Ely Minnesota. Havre Montana. Jim Duncan. Greg Bourgond. Sam Rima. Wil Hernandez. So mountain cabin east of Los Angels. Holden Village. Pacem in Terris. Eastern Point Retreat House. My wife. My own hermitage.
The place are where I have encountered God in ways beyond the ordinary. The people are those who have shaped, guided, mentored, and encouraged me. All these people and places are my spiritual cairns. They are reminders of where I have encounter God in deep, intimate ways.