Of Stones and Streams
by Missy Andrews
What is it about a kid that loves a rock? When I was nine, I collected rocks. My family and I had moved from the beachy coast of Florida to the dry Arizona desert, where I couldn’t exactly gather shells or wildflowers. There I discovered a stone called the desert rose, a form of gypsum that, through the process of erosion, comes to resemble a rosette. Although my own rockhound days have long since passed, still on my bookshelf, a glass footed bowl of rocks gathered with my sons from the Methow River reminds me of a camping trip to Twisp some years ago. Their chubby little toddler hands plunged into the river water, pulling out treasures, eyes alight as they peered at the pretty colors on the slick stones.
I learned this fascination with rocks is not confined to children when my parents announced they were buying a home in the desert “because of the rocks” — big boulders some giant had placed there before the flood, piled like so many building blocks. Jesus talked about rocks too, exhorting us to build our houses on the Rock, and when the psalmist David was anxious, he sought the Rock as well: “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth, I will cry to You when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:1-2).
In the Scriptures, rocks are not only stable, but also lifegiving. Recall the Israelites drinking from the rock Moses struck at Meribah (Numbers 20), which Rock the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians was Christ Himself, who poured forth living waters that spring up a fountain of everlasting life in those who drink: “For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4).
So, when the floods of responsibilities and the cares of this life threaten to overwhelm — when the laundry rises, and the kids are sick, and the pile of books daunts and you find all you want to do is sit like a stone on your sofa — repair to the Rock, our steady, strong, immovable Lord Jesus, who, struck in our stead, poured forth life and grace in all abundance for us. Slake your thirst on His living water. Stand firmly on His immovable promises. Remember His steadfast love, which compelled Him to lay aside His divinity, take the form of a servant, and pour out His life for us.
Let this mind, the mind of Christ our Rock, be in you, and watered, you’ll find new energy, new resolution, a new heart welling up within you to do that laundry, scrub those dishes, give those lessons, love those precious, messy children. Love multiplies. And when you’ve found the resources to soldier on, don’t forget to make your pile of stones, gathered from the River of Life, a memorial of all that the Lord your Rock has done for you this day. “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).
As the oldest of 7 and who collected rocks I kept them in a paper bag in the closet where they would be safe. I still have some of the ones I collected. I loved this blog and all the others you have written. What a blessing you are.