My small pickup truck has seen many, many, miles. I’ve learned to appreciate the small milestones along the way. My truck recently turned 345,000 miles on the odometer. I now celebrate every time the odometer completes another 1,000 miles. So at 346,000 miles, a small mile will cross my face and I will continue to be thankful for my truck.

Often times in the Old Testament, God has the people of Israel build small monuments to remember key milestones of their journey.

In Joshua God had them pick up stones from the middle of the Jordan as they crossed on dry ground and used them to mark that milestone, as a memorial. (Joshua 4)

As we enter a new year, I encourage you to take time to acknowledge the milestones that you will encounter throughout the year, whether big, or small. Many small milestones can lead up to one big milestone that God is leading you toward and far to often I believe that we neglect, or fail to acknowledge the small milestones that God provides and so we fail to see the progress toward the big milestone that God is leading us toward.

I also encourage you to take a look back at the year that was and see where God has led your path. The milestones that you may have neglected and the milestones you marked along the way.

May we always remember how God is working in our lives. In the trials and in the triumph.