Spencer's simple stones
I give to you the rocks I have found beneath my feet. The rocks that have caught my eyes and held me stable, throughout my life, I give to you the foundation of my faith. Right there in the palms of my dirty fingers I want to share my simple stones with you.
Spencer’s hands were dirty and cold and yet he held them open ready to hand me the simple treasures he found among the thousands of other stones and pebbles. He gives without thought, he loves without self preservation, he breathes without contemplation of the outcome, he lives as only a child can in the light of God with innocence and purity open, giving and kind.
What should we strive for in our life?
We should strive to recapture the innocence and purity of a child. We cannot go back or live through our children but we can listen, watch them and let them set the example of selfless living in our lives. We can allow them to show us the simple yet complex stones that build the foundation of faith that we have so often let slip beyond our grasp. It is in the simple stones that support his tiny feet that we can find the stability of life. We will not find the security in finances, material possessions or things of this world. The foundation that will secure our souls lies within the most simple grains of sand, in nature, one another, and in faith that there does exist a God who has created us and loves us beyond all earthly things. We have to go back to the earth, the dirt, the stones, the innocent purity of creation to find our breath, to listen to our purest thoughts, to open our hearts to love and kindness.
We have to deny the feelings of inferiority, fear and rejection. We have to live as if we are dying, love as if we will never be hurt, and believe as though our lives depend completely on our total faith in God. We think that these ideas are lofty, philosophical and unattainable in this modern culture that breeds selfish motives, defensive living and purposeful cruelty to get ahead of all the rest. We must strip away our culture’s coveted acts of living and put on the purity of a child. We can exist in this world without envy, an abundance of material possessions and a me centered attitude.
In fact when we decide to turn the other way and be kind to strangers and want nothing in return, when we choose to help our coworkers, take time to listen to our children, love our spouses without condition and search for a self less lifestyle we will then find the purest happiness that can exist because we are acting as God has intended for us since the beginning of time. When we seek God in the simple acts of kindness, unselfish giving, tender understanding and an unguarded heart we find a stability that is unshakeable.
Accept the simple stones from my child; pure kindness, time for others, empathy, giving without a need to receive, and unconditional love for all. These simple stones will lead you to a faith you have longed for yet never understood, they will make steady the path that you were meant to walk all the days of your life; the way to walk daily with God.
