Sunday, August 10, 2008

What to do with the stones....

Rain and wind.
Visitors popping in.
Olympic sport to watch and marvel at.
A 5th wedding anniversary to celebrate.
Dinner out.
The house seeming full.
Chatter and laughter.
Fun!

I can't remember where I read about stones. The stones of life. I can't even remember what it was about. Just the stones. Then I started thinking about how we use stones.

Stones for foundations. How we chisel them out of the earth and use them as part of the "hard-core" when we build foundations for our homes.

Stones we use to build walls. How we hone the edges to make sure they all sort of fit together to build walls. Look at the old castles - they were not built of bricks, but of stones. How high they are. Cathedrals - how they soar into the heavens.

And stones we file down and flatten as best we can to make pathways. They can't be too bumpy and uneven, or they will trip people up.

Stones we polish and wear in jewellery. Precious stones. Beautiful gifts from the earth.

So what if every person we meet and experience we have is a stone in the creation of our lives? What if we use them for the wrong things? Is it better to build strong walls or to build a pathway?

Stone walls reach toward Heaven. Stone paths lead towards a future. Walls vs Paths. Walls keep you safe, but they can also hide you away. Paths are open and leave you vulnerable to attack, but they also lead you forwards to places yet undiscovered. Adventures.

What do you do with the stones of your life?

11 comments:

Vee said...

Interesting thoughts. Stones are also used to build altars to remember by...I find that a comforting thought, too.

Great to read that you're having some fun! About time!!

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

Beautiful thoughts. You have just written a devotional here--don't know if you meant to or not. But especially with your question at the end, you caused me to stop and think< "Do I appreciate today's stones like she has above?" Thanks.

Judith said...

What do I do with my stones? First I complain, and fuss about them. But always I thank God even for the pain of them.

They made me get the courage and drive to make tremendous changes. David isn't the only one who knew what to do with a handfull of stones, and so can you. Thanks Linds.

Linda said...

As I can't seem to make everyone put their lives on hold while I'm away, I am hopelessly behind on all the news.
I'm glad the mri is done and hoping you'll get some answers very soon.
We're enjoying the Olympics too - and I totally agree about the march of the athletes. Yikes!
Enjoy the time with your family Linds. There is nothing better.

Butterfly Mama said...

Beautiful thoughts, Linds.

Hug,
Heidi

Dawn said...

Lovely thoughts, as usual. You have such a great breadth of topics you can discuss in such varied ways!

I didn't watch the Olympics yet - and didn't know it was coming to London - that'll be a task to prepare for! Years ago Colorado was supposed to get the winter Olympics, but the citizens nixed the idea - didn't like what it would do to the land. I'm not sure how I felt about it at the time. But, in light of having the Democrats in Denver next week, I think less is better!

smilnsigh said...

A marvelous set-you-to-thinking entry!

Interesting... Walls can keep you safe or hide you away...and they reach toward heaven. Since I don't believe in a heaven, I guess I'll stick to paths. :-) And have as many adventures as possible. Because, that's all I'll get, as me. The adventures I have on Earth.

Miss Mari-Nanci
Smilnsigh

Barb said...

I think I prefer the path to the stone wall. There's a LOT to think about in this post, Linds.

Crystal said...

Once again your writing inspires me and makes me marvel at your gift with words. Are you sure you don't want to take up writing as a career?!!

I hope my walls aren't too high and that they have lots of windows, letting in light and others. I hope that my pathways meander a bit and lead me to enjoy the journey and those I meet along the way. And I hope that I see when others need stones so I can share the ones I have.

((( HUGS )))

meggie said...

A thought provoking post, Linds.
My first thought is;
Some days are diamonds
Some days are stones....

Joyful Days said...

I loved this post!! And it made me think of an alternate view of stones from one of my favorite songs by Eden's Bridge--Stones and Sea (lyrics-- http://stevedaniels.org/stones.html ).

This also reminded me of the quote about "not burning bridges" and the story about how mothers are cathedral builders.

So, hopefully, I am a bridge builder and a cathedral builder.

This was so great.

Julie