I'm a Rock

"Why is your one eye bigger than the other?" asked six-year-old Erin. 

 

"God made me like this," I said.

She ran off to play with no further questions or comments.

Her observation was spot on, but she was the first person to ask about it. My husband was surprised when I mentioned it to him later. He had never noticed the difference in my eyes, even though we've been married for over 41 years. Well, they do say love is blind. . . 

 

My brief conversation with Erin came to mind as I thought about what to write for this blog post. Even though I don’t know His reason, I do know God created me like this. Psalm 139:13 says that He created my inmost being and knit me together in my mother's womb. 

My thoughts drifted to the beautiful dry stone walls which I love in the West of Ireland. They always fascinate and inspire me.

An Irish field demarcated by dry stone walls

A dry stone wall

Dry stone walls were first built many many centuries ago as a way to clear the ground for farming, and to mark out the fields. Rocks and stones were taken from the land and fitted together, each one being chosen for its size and shape to fill a specific niche in the wall—it had to be exactly right as no mortar or other building materials were used. The stones were put together in such a way that their connection with each other made the wall structurally sound.

Today dry stone walls are not just lifeless structures, but they abound with life as they mature. They provide shelter and homes for small creatures. In winter they glow with lichens and mosses and in summer they  blossom with wild flowers.

Flowers growing on a dry stone wall in summer

 That's it! As a Christian in the church, I'm like a rock in a dry stone wall. God made me the way I am, with my personality, gifts, talents, weaknesses, and even my small eye, specifically to fit the niche He has prepared for me. As Paul explains so clearly in 1 Corinthians 12:27, Christians make up the body of Christ "and each one of you is a part of it." (NIV) Wouldn't it be wonderful if we each slotted gladly into the space shaped just right for us and played our allotted role, all the while glowing with life as we gave more and more of ourselves to Christ?