Like a Stone

The family and I visited a wonderful little rock shop this weekend and I found some lovely new treasures. As I admired my new stash of stones and jewelry, I thought about all the things that must come together to create such beauty and diversity: temperature, pressure, elements, and refinement. These stones take millennia to form, and meanwhile, people are born, people die, governments rise and fall. And the earth keeps turning as it will until it does not.

My mind continued to wander, and I mused that, in some ways, these stones are a metaphor for our Christian walk, especially with the current uncertainty in the world. Like rough stones, every person is unique, but unpolished, our shine hidden in a craggy exterior comprised of different types of earthly elements not found on a periodic table: idolatry, ego, disappointment, envy, to name a few. And just as rocks are mined from deep within the earth, God reaches past the crust and hardness to reach us.

When we are redeemed in Christ it is the beginning of our refinement. When rocks are tumbled, they are mixed with stones of the same hardness and I am reminded of Proverbs 27:17 “as iron sharpens iron” because as each stone crashes against all the others they all slowly lose their rough edges, just as we tumble around this world with other believers, facing trials and tribulations, wearing away our fears, ego and obstinance.

So, when you are overwhelmed, you are not alone and remember that there is not only order in the chaos, but beauty taking shape, too. You are one of a kind, unique, not just in looks, but in gifts and perspective. Your shape, color, and patterns may look different than another, but we are all God’s children. Lastly, adversity is necessary. No one wants to endure trials, but that is when your true color comes through.

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Also in Confessions of a SAHM