Like A Rock Quarry

The other day Kristin, Christopher and I spent the Saturday before Labor Day at my sister's house in Warren, OH. The most direct route to her house from ours is to take St. Rt. 5. Now in truth there's nothing special about this stretch of road. Yet, every time I take it God reminds me of  something.

You see, every time I take Route 5 I can't help but see and recall the huge rock quarry company along the way. I say this because if you've ever driven pass a quarry, you probably notice that they always seem to have great landscaping on the outskirts of the quarry itself. Thinking about this a little further got me to see the spiritual metaphor that was initially hidden.

The way I see it is that many people live their lives like that of a rock quarry. What I mean is this. Although rock quarries have great landscaping and nicely manicured shrubbery, on the inside there's destruction going on! The outside looks picturesque, but oh the inside! What a reversal!

More directly we constantly ask people "How are you doing" and the answer is usually in the affirmative. Yet, for many that's just not the case. They're really dealing with stuff and can't bring themselves to express the truth. On the other hand though, we do the same. Why is this the case?

I once heard Pastor Tony Evans say, "It's okay not to be fine!" His point I believe was to live our lives in complete transparency before others, especially to our brothers and sisters in faith. So what can we take from this?

I think there are a few things that comes to mind for me.  Hopefully they are beneficial to you. The takeaways I have are:

(1)  It is in fact okay to "not be fine" sometimes. Experiencing difficulties, confusing, setbacks, and frustration is a part of the human experience. Just be sure to not allow yourself to stay in the place of being "not fine!"

(2)  Try to be transparent with people. The way I see it is that when I don't respond in truth I'm robbing others of the opportunity (and blessing) of praying for me and walking through it with me.

(3)  When we are told by someone that they aren't doing fine we have to respond immediately. The door was opened for ministry and genuine care so walk through it before it closes.

And lastly,

(4)  Know that you are fulfilling "The Law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). What is this law? It's loving your neighbor as you love yourself (Galatians 5:14).

So the the next time you pass a rock quarry see it as a reminder to share your prayer requests and needs. Let the "inner explosions" come to and end! Allow others to move out all the rubble and hard things in your life! Be blessed.