Smooth Stones

Where I grew up in Colorado, and around here, rocks and rivers go together. Rivers polish and grind off the rough edges of rocks. The longer a rock is in the river, the smoother it becomes. 

I find it interesting that the Bible tells us that David went to the brook and chose five smooth stones to put in his pouch when he was going to face Goliath (1 Sam. 17:40). The rock that killed the giant was a smooth stone. Why did the Lord feel it was important to include that detail? Why not just say he picked up 5 stones? I think it must have to do with the aerodynamics of smooth stones. A jagged stone would not fly straight and true when David flung it from his sling. He wanted to make sure it would fly true to hit his target. He needed a stone that had spent a lot of time in the river getting all the jagged edges worn off.

What is it that does the polishing? The rocks on the banks are not being polished when they are out of the water. Oh, maybe a little by the wind and rain, but that is a much slower process. Polishing happens in the river. And, it is not the water itself that does the polishing. Tumbling around and bumping up against the other rocks and sand in the river is what makes the rough edges smooth. The water moves the rocks around causing the polishing. 

I’m reminded of Proverbs 27:17 which states: “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (A sharp blade has no rough edges.)

If the Holy Spirit is the river and we are the rocks, then He is the One moving us, resulting in the friction that ultimately polishes us and knocks off our rough edges. It can be a painful process, and one we don’t always understand at the time. Or should I say, one we rarely understand? Dealing with each other, those other rocks in the river, can cause us pain. But that pain often produces growth. Where else will we learn forgiveness, patience, and self control (to name a few) if we don’t encounter difficult relationships?

At first I was thinking that the smoothing process is always painful, but that is not true. All that togetherness of the rocks in the river rubbing shoulders, sharing experiences, moving together can also be a joyous thing. Personally, I think my rough edges have been smoothed out much more effectively by love and acceptance than by conflict. We were created for relationship, with God and with each other. Closeness, touching each other’s lives, while surrounded by God’s presence, polishes us.

We must trust Him and submit to the process. He is making us smooth so that we will be useful to Him in the slaying of giants in the land. We have been commissioned to disciple nations, and there are giants in the land that need slaying: greed, racism, poverty, disease, etc . . . We want to be well rounded and trustworthy, flying true when God pulls us out of His pouch and uses us. 

At the same time, do not think that you cannot be used by God because you are still rough around the edges! I like what Bill Johnson says: God wins no matter what hand He is dealt, even if it’s a pair of 2’s. After all, He used a donkey to speak to Balaam. God can use even the roughest, most jagged rock in His pouch when He so chooses. And there are even times when a jagged rock would be a better choice, depending on the intended use. Let God use you in whatever condition you are.

Lord, I pray you will be able to use me now, even though I am jagged and rough. I submit to Your polishing process with the hope that You will be able to use me to slay giants in the land.

Rocks

agate

 

One of the things I have learned to really enjoy while I’m on the river is rock hunting. A friend showed me what agates look like, and now I’m hooked. My family just rolls their eyes when I bring home my new treasures and tells me the shelf where I keep them is going to collapse. I admit, what to do with them all has become an issue. I recently bought a couple of large hurricane glasses hoping that they will be a good way to corral, and yet still be able to enjoy, my gems.

agate

 

I am constantly amazed how varied the rocks on the beaches are. Looking out over a gravel bar, all the rocks seem the same, but when you look closer, you see they come in all sizes, shapes, and colors – kind of like people. While most are plain and nondescript (rocks), others have intricate details, are multicolored, and are beautiful. Some have taken the form of things that used to be alive. Fossils are always fun to find, but mostly, I hunt for agates. I pick up, examine, and toss aside more rocks than I keep. Agates are the prize, but I have kept other rocks that are not agates because they are unique in some way that intrigues me.

agate

 

Agates come in many varieties, some of which I am still discovering. It takes patience and lots of time to find these jewels among the ordinary stones. There are many “look alikes” and “wanna be’s” out there. They may be covered with dirt and dust, or I might see just a small piece of one sticking up out of the sand, trying to hide. Or is it trying to be found? And then there are the ones you just walk up on that are showing the world their splendor, just waiting to be stumbled upon and rescued. A gift strategically placed.

agate

One thing is sure, when I find an agate, or what I think may be an agate, I take it to the river to wash it off and see what it looks like wet. Not only does water clean the dirt off, it also enhances its colors and reveals details that may have been hidden before. If I wasn’t sure before, the water will usually tell me if what I have in my hand is an agate or not. Another test I sometimes use is the light test. Some of the more translucent ones let the sunlight come through displaying their inner hidden glory.

agate

 

Christ . . .cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory . . . Ep. 5:25-27

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive. . .  Jn 7: 38-39

For the God who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  Ep. 4:6

I can see a cross in the center.

Jesus takes us like He finds us, covered with dirt, cleans us up with the water of His Spirit, and then shines His light through us. Just like rocks look better wet, so we look better with the Holy Spirit flowing through our lives. He does not want to cover us up so that we are hidden, as if He were ashamed of us. He wants to shine us up so the beauty He placed there when He created us is able to be seen by others. He wants to enhance our beauty to show off His creation. His light and His water are able to do that for us. We cannot do it on our own.

What a difference when light shines through.

 

Without water vs. with water

Stuck in an Eddy

Hell's Canyon, Snake River, May 1982

Years ago, rafting in Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River at flood stage, we got caught in an enormous eddy.  The river made a turn to the left along the canyon wall.  There was a rapid up against the rock wall the length of the turn, but at the bottom of the turn, most of the water went back up river in the biggest eddy any of us had ever seen.  It was like a giant whirlpool. The eddy was so powerful it took us back to the beginning of the rapid at the top of the canyon curve.  We had to run the rapid again.  This time, at the bottom of the rapid, dad (on the oars) tried as hard as he could to row out of the eddy back into the current that would take us down river.  He couldn’t do it, and the eddy took us back to the beginning of the rapid again!  On the third run through the rapid, dad took one oar and John took the other oar, and together they were able to power us out of the eddy at the bottom.  Whew.  We were getting worried that we would never get out of there.

Hell's Canyon, Snake River, 1982

Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in an eddy when I seem to continually face the same kind of problem. “What? I have to go through this again!?” One of my eddies has been trusting the Lord to be my Provider. How many times has He proved to me that He will provide? Over and over again. How long will I have to keep learning this lesson before I get it? Just when I think I’ll get to move on down the river, I’m swept back to the same rapid again. I do notice a difference this time though. I am not in the panicking state. Maybe I’m actually growing in this area? The Lord has been so faithful to us time and time again.  I have no reason to doubt when He has proven Himself so faithful to His promise to provide. Thank you, Lord. I choose to trust You.

Don't Judge a Tree by its Appearance

This summer one of my favorite trees fell into the river. I have taken more than 30 pictures of this tree over the last four years. Half the time when I went by it, I almost couldn’t help myself, and I’d take another picture of it, knowing how many I already had. I loved the way it leaned out over the river, tall and majestic, dominating its corner.  I have kayaked that particular stretch of river 38 times just in the last four years, so I am very familiar with it. Imagine my surprise when I came around the corner and the tree was gone.  I actually gasped.  How sad and barren its spot on the bank looked. 

I guess I should have suspected it was not going to be there much longer by the way it was leaning.  It was not standing straight like it must have grown. What made it start to lean? It looked so healthy. And most amazing of all to me is that it survived the flood last year.  The banks of the river are littered with trees that were taken down during the flood.  What in the world was able to take it down this year?  Possibly the flood weakened it?  A lightning strike? We did have a storm with strong winds a few days before I found it lying in the river, but it didn’t seem strong enough to have knocked it down. The trunk was split and splintered from the base up, so it did not just fall over because it was not anchored in the soil. It appears it did not have the internal strength it needed to stand in a storm? Another thing that amazed me was how fast it lost all of its leaves.  It was only a two week period from when I last saw it standing tall and proud, full of leaves, to when I found it broken and barren of all but a few tiny spots of green. Some trees stay green for months, even years, after falling into the river.

How many of us look good on the outside, but our insides are weak? It is impossible for us to tell what is inside someone else by looking at the outside. Often times, we don’t even know what is inside of ourselves! The storms and trials of life reveal what is inside.

I am reminded of a story I heard years ago about an older man encountering a teen in a church stairwell. The boy was bumped or knocked down by accident going up the stairs, and he cursed. When the teen realized the older gentleman heard him, he was embarrassed and said that he didn’t normally talk that way.  The wise man took him to the kitchen, filled a glass with water, set it on a table, and then bumped the table.  Water spilled.  The lesson?  “What is inside comes out when bumped.”

I want to be so filled with the Lord, that when I am “bumped,” He spills out. I pray that when what is inside me is revealed, people will only see Jesus. And when those trials of life come, I am so thankful that I do not have to rely on my ability to stand in the storm because I have the Holy Spirit on the inside. He alone makes me strong. I have no strength of my own, but He is my strong tower (Pr. 18:10).

Looking Back

A river is constantly moving. It is wise to keep looking ahead for obstacles that need to be avoided. There are many kinds of obstacles: downed trees, rocks, shallow water, rapids, turns, bridges, as well as other people and boats. Reading the water has become second nature to me now, and I can tell where I want to be on the river to avoid problems. I know just how close I can skirt to that tree or rock to ride the wave it creates without getting into trouble. I can tell where it is too shallow to get through without having to get out and walk. I see where the current will try to push me where I don’t want to go if I’m not careful.

On the river, I know better than to spend too much time looking back up river and not paying attention to what I’m approaching down river. I have not done as well in my personal life. There is something inside me that has to understand what went wrong after I’ve made a mistake. I keep trying to figure it all out, thinking that if I can just figure it out, then surely, I won’t make the same mistake again because now I’ll understand where I went wrong.

“Those who think their intellect will keep them from deception are already deceived.” Bill Johnson

The first time I read this statement, it pierced my heart. Most of my drive to understand is from a strong desire not to be deceived. Here I find I am deceived if I think my intellect will keep me from deception! It’s not that I haven’t heard this idea before in different ways. Those I trust to speak into my life have tried to tell me many times to give up my “need” to understand. That there are some things I will not understand, and that’s ok. I think when I read Bill Johnson’s statement, it was at the right moment and worded in the right way for me to hear it. The soil of my heart was prepared.

So now I am determined to trust God, even with my mistakes. I am learning to look forward to what He is doing and where He is going. It is my desire to become as good at reading the current of the Holy Spirit as I am at reading the current of a river. If I spend too much time looking back, I will not be where I need to be in the current of the Holy Spirit. I am looking ahead for the swift current, the rapid that will thrill my heart, and the still quiet pool where I can be refreshed in my Lord.

Introduction

Photo by Sharon Gallo

I love being out on the river.  I have spent most of the last 30+ summers whitewater rafting, canoeing, or kayaking.  A few years ago when I went through a very difficult time, I found solace on the river.  At that time, it was about the only place I could sense God’s presence, the only place I felt some measure of peace.  The quiet and beauty around me, the opposite of the turmoil within me, was able to seep into my very being, quieting the storm, at least while I was there.  I spent 30-50 days each summer of the last 4 summers out on the river.  Jesus met me there and began His healing work.  He used other things and people in my life also, but I believe my time on the river with Him and the friends He blessed me with who went with me were a large factor in bringing healing and restoration to my life.

I have the following verse painted on the side of my kayak:  “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”  My spare kayak continues the verse with, “And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.”  (Isaiah 43:2)  I started quoting this verse back in our whitewater rafting days, usually just before a big rapid.  He is faithful.  He has been with me and the rivers have not overflowed me.  

Lately, I have felt the Lord’s nudge to share some of what I’ve learned.  Much of what I’ve learned I will relate in terms of the river, for three reasons:  rivers are near and dear to my heart, I know something about rivers, and the Bible also uses rivers in analogies.  I do not expect to amaze anyone who happens to read these blogs with marvelous new insights (there is nothing new under the sun).  It is more that I expect to learn even more by writing it out.  Writing forces you to think.  So really, this is more for me than anything else.  I’m just inviting you to come along on my ramblings if you so desire.