The Rock

I was walking through a wood one day when I stumbled upon a rock.

I nearly passed by it. After all, it was just a rock. But then I stopped to think.

There was nothing unusual about it—just a rock sitting just off the path between some trees. There it stood: so still and hardened, apathetic toward the thriving wood around it. It did not see the sparrows peering from the branches above with bright, cautious eyes. It did not feel the soft breeze, or the heavy beams of the afternoon sun, settling warmly on the edges of the forest. Everything seemed to be alive somehow! But the rock took no notice. It was just a rock.

Just a rock: and it had been sitting here for years and years. It might have sat through long, warm summer afternoons and bitter, frosted winter nights. Just to think of the sights and the people it had seen! Perhaps children had clambered over with wide smiles and wild imaginations; perhaps empty souls had wandered by, leaning against it and trying to sort out a life beyond their control. Hurting people and passionate people, joy and sorrow, had passed through this forest, by this rock.

It might have seen everything from its years of sitting in this wood! And yet I would never know— for it was no different for having experienced it all. It was just a rock, and that was all. It had just always sat there, unchanged and unmoved. And a world buzzed by it in a blur of needs and opportunities, and it was unaffected.

And so I turned and left, back out of the woods and back to my own circumstances. I looked once over my shoulder for a moment and caught one last glimpse of the rock as the sun sank into the trees behind it. The wind picked up and scattered a handful of crisp autumn leaves across the trail, and the rock stood still--silent and unmoving. But after all, what else was to be expected? It was just a rock.

Current and prospective students: You have one lifetime to make a change, to be changed, to choose a college and a path beyond, and to reach out to those around you. Step out of your door this morning, sensitive and surrendered to how God would mold you and use you rather than being hardened to the needs and opportunities that are rushing by. It is not extraordinary to exist for another day, just like the rock. Anyone can do that. Be affected by how the Lord wants to work in you and through you today!

Anna Grace