We’ve been building a walkway this week at the Teen Challenge center — and though surrounded by beautiful GRASSY fields, we were given two wheelbarrows and asked to retrieve stones (excluding any and all forms of brick, cement, clay, anything square shaped, etc) from whatever location we could find, until the path was complete. This seemed like an easy enough task – until of course we walked the entire property down to the riverbank where about 5-10 stones lived in the river water – along with their neighbors the 8 side of the road stones, and the rest of the land was covered in lush greenery. I began to wonder why we weren’t collecting sticks or bundles of grass. Moving back across the property we hopped under a wire fence and began to scan the tree-line. Discovering two average rock piles we dug some dirt and filled a couple wheelbarrows – enough to get a good start on the path, but nothing close to promising a definite finish.
Finding a second wire fence, Kayla and I hopped under it to retrieve some rocks from a third pile I’d spotted during our digging. As we were joined by the rest of our team, we jokingly spoke about how “even the rocks cry out in praise to God” and muttered a prayer that was something to the affect of, “Dear Jesus, please multiply these rocks so we don’t have to search for more random piles”. Everyone began moving roots and dirt clumps from around the stones. Wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow, after wheelbarrow came back and forth up/down the hill as we filled them overflowing and dumped them into the carved walkway area. Finally the guys mentioned the ridiculous amount of rocks being produced by this tiny plot of ground.
Where were these rocks coming from?
Why and how were there so many of them?
We laughed at how ridiculous it was that overtime we turned over one rock, we found 4-5 around it…yet the ground remained undisturbed and looked like it’d been hardly touched. We’d worked this ground for over an hour, and it looked brand-new, still and silent, fresh and natural. We couldn’t help but be thankful that the LORD humored us and multiplied the rocks we needed (in one place) on the property to complete the large majority of our project. Even the men at the center commented on the “good work” and curiously asked about where we were able to acquire so many rocks. Who knew asking the Lord would be the best strategy ever!?! I love that the Lord hears and meets every need of His children – big and small – personal and for the benefit of others – super important and sometimes completely ridiculous. “On Christ the solid rock I stand…”
