Grounded. Unmovable. Secure. These are words that describe me…well, most of the time. God has been watchful over me to keep me secure and grounded throughout my life, and for that I am exquisitely thankful.
Once in a while life events threaten to shake our emotional and spiritual foundations. There should be a Richter Scale for these things!
The passing of a family member has to be about a 6.5 magnitude; but there are others:
sickness
divorce
loss of a job
moving
Even if you stay away from the epicenter, the tremors are still felt, and can be frightening. It causes the soul to search for a solid rock to hang on to.
Humans are born dependent, much more so than animals. We come into this life not being able to move ourselves around, find food, or take care of ourselves at all. This is part of God’s wonderful design.
A horse’s foal is able to stand within minutes of birth. Other animals live independently of their mothers from birth.
What a contrast with human children, who seem completely helpless straight through their teens!
“Mom, how do you run the washing machine?” And so it continues through life; we depend on our spouse, our church family, our extended families, our employers, and even our government.
Sooner or later we find that some of those people will let us down. This, too, works into God’s design when it reminds us who our Rock is. While others fail, God never will.
Our neighbor was excavating for a project and unearthed some huge boulders. He thought about making a rock garden, but his wife had a better idea.
“Give them to the Berglunds to make a rock garden, and then we can enjoy the view!” And so it came about that we have some “sitting stones,” and this summer, a garden around them.
These particular beauties were moved with heavy equipment, strategically placed at my direction, and they will remain there for a very long time.
Unlike the edging rocks that we scrounged from a blasting site two years ago, they shall not be moved.
We recently built a flower bed on a slope, and cannibalized my garden edgers for just the right stacking rocks for a short wall. Not so with the sitting stones. They stayed put.
The bunnies and moles that make their homes under the massive rocks are safe there. Their home and shelter is not going to be moved.
My safe place is, and always has been, with God. He never changes, and He never moves. If He seems far away, it is because we have moved away from Him.
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 18:2 NASB).
Rocks of any size are wonderful for the garden. Pebbles can be used as a soil covering for pots, boulders can be garden seating, and the medium sized ones define the borders of my flower beds around the edges of the lawn and around the trees.
One of my cradle roll students presented me with a stone from the church parking lot. Her mom said “Miss Christine doesn’t want a rock,” but I did! It went in one of my patio pots to keep the moisture in.
But the big ones that will not be moved, they are right there where I left them when I need a rest. Rocks rock!
“…They were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them: and the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Thanks, I needed that.