Bread from stones

Every week we hike with the kids, we do a segment called the Silent Hike.  We stop at a spot and send the kids one at a time down the trail with a good distance in between and staff at the beginning and end.  We ask them to look around as they hike and find something that reminds them of God's love for them. 

This week, my Silent Hike find was the river and the river rock. 

The trail we were hiking was one side of a deep canyon.  A river gushed and cut corners through the bottom and opposite us was a craggy rock wall.  How the rock wall and the stones in the river differed!  The stones in the river, though all unique in color and composition, clearly bore the mark of the river.  Some were in different stages of their transformation from jagged rock to river stone, but all were in the process.  The river persists and shows no favorites.  Stones cannot resist its refining power of slowly wearing away rough and sharp edges. 

It's easy to compare ourselves to other followers of Jesus in our transformation from jagged rock to smooth river rock.  We despair because we still have corners in need of wearing away, or we disdain the rough edges of others who have refining still to be done.  Be thankful for the River's persistence.  He won't give up on the work He's begun.  He's also not in the business of making bricks whose strength is in their uniformity.  The river stones maintain their true colors, which are often displayed more clearly as the River washes away the dirt, but all who are in the River bear its mark. 


Thoughts from hiking,
Little Miss Sunshine