Looking Up!
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Missionary
Carol Hall, Nagoya Japan
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“The Heart Shaped Rock”
Reflections
for the New Year Nica Bible Study
When we had the memorial service for
my Dad, his great-grandson, about 8 yrs.
old, who was crying, quietly, and quickly took something out of
his pocket and laid one of his favorite possessions...a small, shiny, heart
shaped rock, on the pillow beside my dad ...
It was a very touching gesture,
yet the small dark stone looked strange against the white
pillow...usually people put flowers there........yet the stone made me think of
another ROCK!
And, as I testified, my dad had given
his total life to Christ just 5 months before.......So, I knew .My dad trusted
in THE ROCK, Jesus, and that heart shaped rock, to me, represented the love of
Jesus, the ROCK of salvation.
Though the Bible talks often of the
LORD as our Rock, most people would rather think of the Lord as a
Shepherd, a comforter, a healer, etc. but....A rock?...It is not a
very comfortable thought..
.We don’t hug rocks. We don’t like to sleep on them. ROcks don’t
bring us comfort or talk to us. Rocks
can hurt us. They are all around us but we
don’t really notice them......yet, when we see a polished rock, we are amazed
at the beauty inside!!! But, mostly,
the rocks we know are plain, brown, grey, and hard!! Usually people don’t think about rocks at
funerals.....we think of more comforting things.
But, as my dad’s great-grandson put
the heart shaped rock by my dad... I also began thinking of another ROCK from a
LONG TIME AGO under the water of Lake Fairview, in the Pocono mountains of
Pennsylvania.
My dad & my brother spent all
their summers at this small lake in the mountains. Many guests would go there for vacation. I was privileged to spend one month every
year with my dad & brother & at that lake. It was the best month of the year! He had
speed boats, row boats, sail boats, and canoes. My brother and I
played constantly in the water. The lake
was our freedom. We would often swim
out to a deeper part of the lake and jump off a small float.....We were small
and couldn’t touch the bottom so we
stayed close to the float.........But sometimes we liked to swim out further.............
We had found a BIG ROCK on the bottom
of the lake....If we stood on our toes,
we could stand there in the deep water and take a rest. So, when we first got into the deeper
water, I would always, always FIND THE ROCK FIRST to make sure we
knew where it was. We would put our feet down
until our feet found the ROCK of rest, and we would say “I FOUND IT!”...............
Sometimes we couldn’t find it,
& we would have to dive under,
peering into the dark, brownish color
water down in the brownish dark water, until we would see a light colored SHAPE
raising up, larger than the others.......IT WAS THE ROCK!!!! It was fun to stand on it in the middle of
the deep water, even when the wind made the waves big. Sometimes we would have
a contest to see who could find it first.
No matter how old or how tall we got,
each summer, we would look for that rock and yell out “I FOUND IT!!!!” It always made us feel like we were home
after being separated all year. This
rock was OURS! WE could depend on it,
like a friend...no matter what wind or waves came into our broken family
life........ This rock never moved, or changed its shape... YES...this was a
rock of comfort, safety, and had a part of my brother Bob and I being
together again.
It’s been 30 years or more since I’ve
been to that lake and to that rock. I’m sure it’s still there. Maybe some other children have discovered it.
I just realized that thru all the years, in
all the storms, the fears, the depressions, and the lost feelings....... I understand
now that in my prayers, and reading of the Bible, and searching and seeking the
presence of the Lord........I was doing just as I did when I was a young girl.
I WAS LOOKING FOR THE PLACE OF
SAFETY. THE PLACE OF
SECURITY.....THE PLACE OF SALVATION.......The UNMOVEABLE, UNSHAKABLE ROCK. And,
HE was always always there........waiting for me TO SEEK so He could be found.
We think HE is lost or has left
us.....But in the dark...deep waters of your troubles and fears, HE IS THERE........Seek
the ROCK....Rest your feet on that ROCK and you will not sink down. He will
hold you up. THE ROCK will embrace you,
comfort you...... He will NOT MOVE. He will stay where He is, and expect you to
find HIM THERE. Did the Rock move?
No.......you did! Sometimes He
seeks US, like a shepherd, if we get lost.
But when we are the ones who went away,....He just waits for us to Seek
Him.
The Bible says, YOU SHALL SEEK ME AND FIND ME
WHEN YOU
SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. Jeremiah
29:13
Often, up at the lake, our dad & the guests would be sitting on the dock, watching us play in the lake. They would see us swim out to the deeper part
of the lake and look for the ROCK. (we
knew they were watching) So, when we found the rock, we would wave at them
and yell LOUDLY, “WE FOUND THE
ROCK!”....and they would wave back and smile.
As I thought over these things right after dad died....I remember him sitting
on the dock, and hoping he would jump in the water and join us! But he was with the guests, watching us.....I thought of the Bible verses
which tell us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses...those
faithful people who have gone home before us.....cheering us on. (Hebrews 12:1)
I thought of my grandma, my mom and other faithful friends who have gone to
Heaven and now my dad has joined them too!
Can they see thru the dividing line of earth and eternity and watch us
sometimes? Do they see it when we get
lost down here on earth and have struggles and temptations? Do they wait to see us wave and yell out “I FOUND THE ROCK!” and cheer us on? It seems to be so.
..........and surely the angels watch
as well...................For the Bible
says there is JOY in Heaven over each one that puts their faith in Christ ....
They laugh and wave as we say “WE FOUND THE ROCK! We’re Okay now!” For HE IS THE ROCK
SHAPED LIKE A HEART,.
ROCK verses: 2 Sam 22:3
22:32, 33, 34,
37, 47, 1 COR. 10:4 MATT. 7:24
In these changing times, the waves and
wind will try to blow you far off course...many strange doctrines, and signs
and wonders from the devil himself.
ESTABLISH yourselves ON THE ROCK!!!! The Rock is HIS WORD...Get it into
your HEART! Get it into your SPIRIT! He
is the Rock shaped like a HEART!
Pastor Carol, Nagoya
Japan
