"On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All Other Ground is Sinking Sand...." That's not what I was thinking when I snapped this photo of my son this summer. That's not what he was thinking either when he climbed up on that rock and asked me to take the photo.What we were thinking this past summer, while on vacation, was "Ah,..." and taking deep breaths of ocean air. We were thinking how good it felt to be alive and how good it was to be together. And also how hungry we were, and where was the next good place to eat?
Now summer is over. Winter is almost here. The markets have crashed. Times are lean. We're apart- Alex is down there in Kentucky, we're up here in New York, he's sick with another cold and I'm watching to see that it doesn't turn dangerous, Bill is feeling the precariousness of being a self-employed contractor, and now...more than ever...I want to remember that rock, that boulder, that Alex stood upon.
I want to fix that image in my mind so that my knees don't feel shaky and my heart doesn't race in anxiety. I want to see that rock and let it remind me that I already know- know too well- that "all other ground is sinking sand". So maybe it's time to know the rest of that old hymn; to know that chorus so well that it goes over and over in my mind till my heart leaps up in faith, in agreement, and my eyes can see clearer skies on the horizon.
1 comment:
I love all the rock imagery in the Bible-- so solid, so sure. A pillow and descending point for Jacob's ladder (victory over fear)-- the Ebenezer stone erected by Samuel after God (through THUNDER, no less) gave him victory over the Philistines-- Moses striking one to produce water (victory over death by starvation and from complainers :))-- Elijah's sacrificial prayer that rained fire (victory over baal)-- Joshua's 12-tribe's-rock monument to crossing the Jordan (victory over doubt (that God was with Joshua as He had been with Moses))...rock, rock, rock, rock, rock. Mostly, though, I like the Nichole Nordeman song "River God"--whose lyrics paint *us* as the rocks that God's rushing water smooths..(beautiful song-- on her Wide Eyed CD)..that desire to stay in the deepest, most tumultuous part of the river so that He can wear us into His desired shape--despite the frustration, the turmoil, and the pain. He provides not only the rock that gives us our stability, but allows us to hold on so tightly that we become rocks ourselves. We can be PETRIFIED (scared) and petrified (becoming stone) at the same time, if we choose Him as our source for strength. Cool, huh? ~joanna
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