Again this morning I asked the Lord, "What do you want me to discover today?" And I immediately pictured a rock. The words came to my mind, "My love is hidden under the rocks of your life."
Rocks are hard and of different sizes. I can stumble over them, complain about them, or remove them. The smaller rocks I can remove on my own; with the big rocks, I may need help.
Editted free image by Joeri Römer on Unsplash
If a farmer owns a large rocky field, he could plant crops between the rocks, but crops would not thrive. Those rocks have got to go!The rocks in my life are anything that hides God's ever present love. His love is hidden by hurtful actions and harmful attitudes. I am stumbling over them all the time. When I am ill and am tempted to doubt God's love..., when someone needs to talk and I am reluctant to give up my time..., when I feel blamed and respond with angry words..., when I am faced with challenging tasks and I let discouragement take hold..., etc., etc. All these rocky occasions prevent me from seeing God's love.
The Scripture reading that was especially meaningful to me this morning was, "her deserts He shall make like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord." Isaiah 51:3. What a hope-filled verse!
And so I imagine my life becoming a beautiful garden filled with prayer and good works and the amazing love of God. Just as the farmer has to remove those rocks to have a productive field, I need to remove whatever is hiding God's love. May the wastelands of my life become "like the garden of the Lord."
All glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
I really like this imagery! Rocks are classic metaphors for the stumbling blocks in our lives and yet they can be beautiful or useful, too. My Dad was a "rockhound" - he collected, bought and traded rocks! Even the most ordinary rocks often held beautiful colors when polished and some had crystals hidden inside! I still have some of his collection and jewelry he made out of them.
ReplyDeleteThat memory reminded me that God loved all that He made and in fact, Genesis 1:30-31 says “…and so it happened. God looked at everything he had made and found it very good.” All that God made was good – the sea, the land and the sky; the trees, the flowers and the rocks; the birds, the fish, the animals and the people. All lived in perfect balance, harmony, and love – until sin entered in to spoil it all. But our God is all powerful and can defeat the evil. He can make good things come out of evil. We only need to learn to see with His Eyes, hear with His Ears, and Love with His Heart.
If we learn to do that, then all those stumbling blocks can become stepping stones. All those barriers can become opportunities to learn and grow stronger. All those fears can lead us to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity – God the Holy Spirit, who calms our fears and brings us peace; who showers us with the Graces we need to become the person we were made to be – a beloved child of God.
So how do we do this? How do we learn to see with His Eyes, hear with His Ears, and Love with His Heart?
By prayer and faith – “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24.
By prayer and hope – “Oh Blood and Water that gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus, I trust in You!” from the Divine Mercy Chaplet (see the post on May 1st).
By prayer and love – “He said to him, ““You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”” Matthew 22:37-40
By prayer and forgiveness - “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22 This is not a specific number - we do not keep count! It means every time and it applies to all people, including ourselves.
These practices and habits have taught me how to remove, get around, transform or see the beauty in the rocks and obstacles that appear in my life.
"Stumbling blocks can become stepping stones." I love it! You have said it perfectly, "...These practices and habits have taught me how to remove, get around, transform or see the beauty in the rocks and obstacles that appear in my life."
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